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FACTS   AND  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   ORIGIN,  AUTHORS, 

SENTIMENTS    AND   SINGING   OF   HYMNS,   WHICH, 

WITH   A    SYNOPSIS,  EMBRACE   INTERESTING 

ITEMS  RELATING  TO  OVER  EIGHT 

HUNDRED   HYMN-WRITERS. 

With  many  portraits  and  other  illnstrations. 


SECOND     EDITION. 


By  Eev.  Edwin  M.'  Long, 

Author  of  "  Precious  Hymns  of  Jesus,"  "  Talks  to  Children,"  "  Good  News  ' 
'•  Work  of  Grace  in  the  Hearts  of  the  Young,"  etc. 


Philadelphia  : 
PUBLISHED  BY  P.  W.  ZIEGLER  &  CO. 

518    ARCH    STREET. 


w 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  jear  1876,  by 

EDWIN  M,  LONG, 
In  the  OfiBce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


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4        John  }..  fRicK, 

WHOM  I  SHALL  EVER  ESTEEM 
AS  MY 

"Helper  in  Christ," 
this  volume  is 


by  the 
AUTHOR. 


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^I.N^DING  it  unpleasant  to  be  com- 
pelled to  wait  long  at  the  door  of 
entrance,  we  Avill  not  incur  this  cen- 
sure from  our  reader,  but  at  once  and 
with  few  words,  extend  our  hand  and 
a  hearty  M-elcome  to  the  picture  gal- 
lery we  have  been  arranging. 

There  will  be  seen  many  pleasant 
faces  of  old  friends,  whose  hymns 
have  become  enshrined  in  our  hearts' 
affections,  and  have  so  often  sounded 
forth  in  our  songs  of  praise. 

At  the  entrance  you  will  meet  one 
whose  face  beams  with  a  sweet  meek- 
ness, and  you  will  be  glad  to  recog- 
nize in  him.  Bishop  Ken,  who,  for  nearly  two  centuries, 
has  been  teachino-  the  world  to 

"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  " 

Take  a  few  steps  along  our  gallery  and  the  reader  Avill 
meet  the  pensive  face  of  one,  whose  ready  pen  sketched 
the  immortal  hymn : — 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood. " 

Ivear  by  will  be  perceived  the  noble  and  expressive 


W 


viii  Preface. 


features  of  Doddridge,  who,  among  his  three  hundred 
hymns,  inserted  the  gem : — 

"  Grace,  'tis  a  charming  sound.  " 
If  our  reader  loves 

to  steal  awhile  away 


From  every  cumbering  care," 

the  sight  of  INIrs.  Phoebe  H.  Brown  will  surely  be  wel- 
come, as  well  as  Montgomery,  who  wrote  that 

"  Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 
Uttered  or  unexpressed.  " 

Those  who  for  a  life  time  have  been  wont  to  hear  the 

oft-repeated  words, — 

"Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing. 
Tune  my  heart  to  sing  thy  grace," 

will  be   glad  to   form  the   acquaintance  of  its   author, 

Robert  Robinson. 

Those  Mdiose  heavenly  home-sickness  has  caused  them 

.  oft  to  sing  the  hymn, — 

"  Ou  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand. 
And  cast  a  wishful  eye," 

will  not  be  reluctant  to  be  introduced  to  its  writer. 

Then  m'c  meet  the  full  German  face  of  Gerhardt,  who 
has  banished  many  a  mourner's  tear  by  the  solace  afforded 
in  his  precious  hymn: — 

"  Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs 
And  ways  into  his  hands. " 

Passing  along  we  meet  one  whose  cheerful  and  intelli- 
gent expression  of  countenance  at  once  finds  way  into 
oar  hearts,  one  whose  grand  missionary  hymn  has  been 
sung 

"From  Greenland's  icy  mountains, 
To  India's  coral  strand."' 

If  our  reader  can  say  with  the  psalmist,  "a  day  in  thy 

courts  is  better  than  a  thousand,"  he  will  gladly  welcome 

Dr.Dwight,the  author  of  "I  Love  thy  kingdom  Lord." 


C 


Preface.  ix 


Near  by  his  side  sits  one  who  has  helped  many  a  hesi- 
tating sinner  into  the  kingdom,  by  teaching  him  to  say, 

"Just  as  I  am,  vitliout  one  plea, 
But  that  tliy  blood  was  shed  for  me.'' 

Farther  along  is  one  Avhose  lips  Avere  Avont  to  say,  and 
^vhose  pen  has  taught  the  world  to  sing : — 

"How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds." 
The  early  forests  of  America  gave  birth  to  one  whose 
Indian  face  will  be  seen  among  the  group.     One  who 
was 

"  Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound," 
and  then  told  the  story  in  a  hymn   that  God's  children 
have  ever  since  loved  to  repeat,  as  expressive  of  their  own 
experience. 

"  India's  coral  strand"  has  darkened  the  face  of  another, 
who  has  united  with  the  blood  bought  throng  in  saying, 
"  0  Thou,  my  soul  forget  no  more 
The  friend  who  all  thy  sorrows  bore." 

Passing  thus  along  in  alphabetical  order,  we  meet  the 
revered  countenance  of  the  "Father  of  Modern  Hym- 
nology,"  and  gazing  upon  his  pleasant  features,  we  won- 
der why  the  object  of  his  affection  should  have  marred 
the  serenity  of  that  face,  by  saying,  that  while  she  loved 
the  "jewel,  she  did  not  admire  the  casket."  Certainly 
those  who  love  to  linger  on  Calvary's  mount,  will  ever 
cherish  the  name  of  him,  who  in  our  devotions  enables 
us  to  exclaim: — 

"Alas!  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed? 
And  did  my  Sovereign  die?" 

and  then  to  add : — 

"When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross, 
On  which  the  Prince  of  glory  died, 
My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 

And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride." 

Xear  to  Watts  will  be  seen  the  cheerful  face  of  one 


C 


Preface. 


who  ranks  with  him  in  hymnic  honor,  one  to  whom  the 
world  is  indebted  for — 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly." 

Next  to  Charles  Wesley  comes  the  beaming  counte- 
nance of  his  brother,  John,  whose  voice  is  still  echoing 
in  his  hymn  to  perishing  sinners: — 

"  Ho  !  every  one  that  thirsts,  draw  nigh." 

AVhile  passing  thus  around  the  circle,  the  reader  will 
not  fail  to  pause  long  enough  to  gaze  upon  the  youthful 
face  of  Henry  Kirk  White,  who  rode  "once  upon  the 
raging  seas"  of  doubt  and  fear,  and  then  when  "safely 
moored  "  sang  so  sweetly  of  his  rescue  in 

"  The  Star— the  Star  of  Bethlehem." 

The  reader  will  no  doubt  be  gratified  to  find  Lady 
Huntingdon  among  the  group;  one  who  has  gained  a 
world-wide  rei)utation  by  her  gifts  and  graces,  and  as 
the  author  of  that  heart  searching  hymn  that  propounds 
the  solemn  question  : — 

"When  thou, my  righteous  Judge,  slialt  come 
To  take  Xhy  ransomed  people  home, 
Shall  I  among  them  stand?  " 

The  interest  that  clusters  around  the  romantic  history 
of  Madame  Guyon  will  invite  attention  to  her  counte- 
nance, so  meek  and  mild,  and  awaken  desires  to  become 
better  acquainted  vvitli  her  hymns,  that  still  form  a  part 
of  the  songs  of  the  sanctuary. 

It  will  be  needless  to  accompany  the  reader  any  fur- 
ther in  words  of  introduction  to  such  hymn-writers  as 
the  noble  hearted  Zinzendorf,  the  saintly  Baxter,  tlie 
eccentric  Berridge  and  the  heroic  Lutlier,  with  many 
others  wliose  portraits  beautify  our  gallery;  as  they  are 
"old  enough  to  speak  for  themselves." 


£V 


Preface.  xi 


In  the  preparation  of  this  work,  we  have  been  aided, 
in  the  synopsis  and  in  other  particulars,  by  our  friend, 
Mr.  Francis  Jennings,  who  may  be  fitly  denominated, 
a  walking  encyclopedia  of  hymnology.  He  is  a  native 
of  British  soil,  around  which  cluster  the  most  interesting 
associations  of  hymn  history.  Having  devoted  half  a 
century  in  treasuring  up  dates  and  facts,  it  is  no  wonder, 
tliat,  while  his  locks  are  becoming  silvered  with  the 
frosts  of  many  winters,  his  life-long  zeal  in  this  depart- 
ment remains  unabated. 

We  have  also  received  favors,  which  we  would  grate- 
fully acknowledge,  from  Rev.  F.  M.  Bird,  Rev.  Dr.  E. 
F.  Hatfield,  Rev.  H.  Sheeleigh,  David  Creamer,  Esq., 
and  Mr.  Philip  Cressman. 

To  Mr.  Asa  Hull,  author  of  "The  Golden  Sheaf,"  and 
other  choice  music  books,  we  are  also  indebted  for  ser- 
vices rendered  in  harmonizing  some  of  the  music  contained 
in  this  volume. 

Of  English  publications  on  hymnology,  that  v/e  have 
found  serviceable,  we  may  mention  the  followin:g  "Sing- 
ers and  Songs  of  the  Church,"  by  Josiah  Miller,  M.  A. ; 
"Hymn-writers and  their  Hymns,"  by  Rev.  S.  \V.  Chris- 
tophers; "The  Methodist  Hymn  Book  and  its  Asso- 
ciations," by  G.  J.  Stevenson ;  "  Historical  Notes  to  the 
Lyra  German ica,"  by  Theodore  Kubler.  Of  American 
issues:  "Historical  Sketches  of  Hymns,"  by  Joseph 
Belcher,  D.  D. ;  "Evenings  with  the  Sacred  Poets,"  by 
Frederick  Saunders;  and  "  Trophies  of  Song,"  by  Rev. 
W.  F.  Crafts. 

We  have  been  highly  favored  in  opportunities  for 
gathering  material  for  a  book  of  this  kind,  as  we  have 
been  brought  into  contact  with  so  many  pastors  and  others, 
who  have  furnished  facts  and  incidents,  fresh  from  their 
observation  and  experiences.  During  the  ])ast  fifteen 
years,  in  the  delivery  of  courses  of  Illustrated  Sermons, 


XII  Preface. 


and  in  other  evangelistic  labors,  it  has  been  our  privilege 
to  preach  in  over  six  hundred  churches,  in  nineteen  states 
of  the  Union,  among  twelve  different  denominatious,  and 
in  the  German  as  well  as  the  English  language. 

With  the  abundance  of  matter  on  hand,  for  which  we 
cannot  find  room  in  the  present  volume,  we  have  arranged, 
Providence  permitting,  to  go  on  immediately  in  the  prep- 
aration of  a  second  work  to  embrace  mainly  historical 
sketches  of  the  hymns  and  hymn-writers  of  the  present 
century,  as  well  as  the  origin,  singing,  and  authors  of 
chddren's  hymns  and  Sunday  school  songs.  It  will  be 
of  the  same  size,  and  illustrated  with  as  many  portraits 
and  other  engravings,  as  this  book.  Many  of  the  por- 
traits are  already  engraved,  while  others  are  in  course 
of  preparation. 

As  there  are  constantly  new  facts  and  incidents  trans- 
piring, connected  with  the  singing  of  hymns,  we  have 
occasionally  introduced  floral  letters,  and  in  other  ways 
havearranged  our  material  in  orderto  have  all  articlesend 
with  the  bottom  of  the  page,  so  that  other  pages  can 
easily  be  inserted  in  other  editions  of  this  work.  We 
shall  be  very  grateful  to  any  of  our  readers,  if  they  can 
furnish  us  with  any  additional  material  for  this  book,  or 
with  any  incidents  or  facts  suited  to  our  second  volume. 
Communications  to  be  sent  to  1859  N.  12th  Street  Phil- 
adelphia Pa. 

June  1875,  E.  M.  L. 


(  =g); 


(  the  steel  engravings  are  indicated  by  an  asterisk.  •  ) 

Portrait  of  Thomas  Ken.  * frontispiece. 

Author  of  "  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  " 
Portrait  of  Henry  Alford 35 

Author  of  "  Come,  j'e  thankful  people,  come.  " 
Portrait  of  Richard  Baxter.* 43 

Author  of"  Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care." 

Baxter  before  Jeffries 49 

Portrait  of  John  ByRRiDOE 59 

Author  of  "  0  happy  saints  who  dwell  in  light." 
Portrait  of  Horatius   Bonar 67 

Author  of  "  I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say." 
Potrait  of  Phobbe  H.  Buown 75 

Author  of  "  I  love  to  steal  a  while  away." 
Portrait  of  PnceBE  Cart.*   85 

Author  of  '•  One  sweetly  solemn  thought." 
Portrait  of  William  Cowper 93 

Author  of  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood.  " 
The  Olney  Cottage  Prayer  Meeting 103 

CoWPER    AND     his    HaRES 117 

Doddridge's  Mother  Teaching  him  from  Dutch  Tiles 129 

Portrait  of  Philp  Doddridge.  * 133 

Author  of  "  Grace   'tis  a  charming  sound.  " 


14  Engravings. 


Portrait  of   Timothy  Dwigiit* 151 

Author  of  "  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord." 
Poetrait  of  Charlotte  Elliott 157 

Author  of  "  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea.  " 
Portrait  of  John  Fawcett. 167 

Author  of  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds." 
Portrait  of  Paul  Gerhardt 173 

Author  of  "  Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs.  " 
Portrait  of  Madame  Guyon 185 

Author  of  "  I  would  love  thee,  God  and  Father.  " 
Portrait  of  Henry  HAnBAUOH 191 

Author  of  "  Jesus,  I  live  to  thee.  " 
Portrait  of  Reginald  Hebep* 203 

Author  of  "  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains." 

View  of  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains 209 

Portrait  of  Rowland  Hill 213 

Author  of  "Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord." 

Rowland  Hill's  Surrey  Chapkl 217 

Portrait  of  Lady  Huntingdon  * 221 

Author  of  "  When  thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  shalt  come." 

Huss  Singing  in  the  Flames  of  Martyrdom 2.'^1 

Portrait  of  Adoniram  Judson* 235 

Author  of  "  Our  Father  God,  who  art  in  heaveu.  " 
Portrait  of  John  Keble 241 

Author  of  "  Sun  of  my  soul,   thou  Saviour  dear.  " 
Portrait  of  Thomas  Ken 245 

Author  of  "  Praise  God,  frorj  whom  all  blessings  flow." 
Church  along  side  of  .nd  the  tomb  in  which  Ken  was  buried  249 
Portrait  of  Martin  Luther* 263 

Author  of  "All  praise  to  thee,  eternal  Lord." 

Luther  Singing  in  the  Streets 267 

The  Castle  of  Coburg 271 

Portrait  of  Samuel  Medley 281 

Author  of  "  Awake  my  soul  in  joyful  lays.  " 
Portrait  of  James  Montgomery* 291 

Author  of  "  0  where  shall  rest  be  found." 
I  Montgomery's  Residence* 295 


Engravings.  15 


PORTBAIT  OF  JOHN    NbWTON 307 

Author  of  "  How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds." 

Monica  watching  Augustine's  departure 314 

Portrait  of  Samson  Occom 324 

Author  of  "  Awaked  bj  Sinai's  awful  sound." 
Portrait  of  KRishNA  Pal 331 

Author  of  "  0  thou  my  soul  forget  no  more." 
Portrait  of  Robert  Robinsou 345 

Author  of  "Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing." 
Portrait  of  John  Rtland 351 

Author  of  "  0  Lord,  I  would  delight  in  Thee." 
Portrait  of  Havs  Sachs 355 

Author  of  "  Why  vail  thy  self  in  gloo  n,  my  heart  ?  " 

Residence  of  Anne  Steel 360 

Portrait  of  Samuel  Stennett 367 

Author  of  "  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand." 
Portrait  of  Augustus  Toplady 381 

Author  of"  Rock  of  ages  !  ckft  for  me." 

Abket  house  where  Watts  lived  and  died 388 

Portrait  of  Isaac  Watts* 401 

Author  of  "  Alas  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed." 

Monument  to  Watts 405 

A  scENK  IN  AN  Illustrated  Sermon 427 

Portrait  of  Charles  Wesley  * 435 

Author  of  "  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul." 

Singing  on  a  Sinking  Vessel 443 

"The  Sea" 450 

A  YOUNG  Man  sung  to  Christ 457 

Portrait  of  John  Wesley* 479 

Author  of  "  How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot.  " 
Portrait  of  HENaY  Kirk  White 487 

Author  of  "  When  marshaled  on  the  nightly  plain." 

The  Cloudy  Pillar  Leading  the  Hosts  of  Israel 490 

Portrait  of  Nicholas  Zinzendorf 499 

Author  of  "Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness." 
Church  Singing  in  Olden  Times 509 


Addison  And  his  hj-mns 25 

"Sing  and  pray,   eternity  dawns" 28 

Sarah  F.  Adams,  and  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee" 29 

A  blind  girl's  application  of  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee" 30 

Draw  me  Saviour  nearer 32 

Alford   and  his  hymns 34 

King  Alfred  and  his  hymns 40 

Baxter  and  his  hymns 42 

Baxter's  hymns  illustrated  before  an  Indian  Massacre 52 

Beddome,  author  of  "Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep" 54 

Bernard's  hymn  700  years  old 56 

Berridge  and  his  hymns ^^^ 

Bonar  and  his  hymns 66 

Bonar's  hymn,   "As  meant  forme" 71 

"  "     "I  was  a  wandering  sheep" 72 

<'  <'        Sung  to  a  weary  teacher 73 

Origin  of  "  I  love  to  steal  awhile  away" 74 

Phoebe  H.  Brown  and  her  hymns '^ 

A  little  girl  stealing  away  to  Jesus ^1 

A  captive  girl  recovered  by  a  hymn 8- 

Phoebe  Gary,  author  of  "One  sweetly  solemn  thought" 84 

Gamblers  reclaimed  by  Miss  Cary's     hymn 86 

Cennick,  author  of  "Jesus  my  all  to  heaven  is  gone" 90 

"Now  will  I  tell  to   sinners   round" 81 

Cowper  and  his  hymns 92 


w 


18  Contents. 


Cowper's  conversion  and  hymns  relating  thereto 96 

Origin  of  Cowper's  second  hymn 98 

Cowper's  Olney  hymns 100 

Birth-place  of  "There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood" 102 

Illustrations  of  Cowper's  hymns 103 

Diversions  of  Cowper 116 

Origin  of  "God   moves  in  a  mysterious  way" 120 

Davies  and  his  hymns 122 

Singing  in  time  of  peril 123 

Midnight  echo  of  "  Home,  sweet  home  " 125 

Singing  the  heart  open 126 

Conquered  by  song 127 

Doddridge  and  his  hymns 128 

Singing  of  "0  happy  day" 143 

A  hymn  of  one  word 145 

A  revival  started  by  singing  a  hymn 146 

Heaven  as  represented  in  song 147 

Origin  of  "Stand  up!  stand  up  for  Jesus  " 148 

Dr.  Dwight  author  of  "  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord  " 150 

Singing  in  a  forsaken   church 153 

"       heard  in  the   wilderness 154 

A  prisoner  singing  himself  into   liberty 155 

Miss  Elliott  and  her  hymns 156 

"0  sir,  I've  come,    I've  come" 161 

"Just  as  I  am"  uttered  with  a  dying  breath 162 

The  young  chorister's  last  hymn 164 

Fawcett  and  his  hymns 166 

Origin  of  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds" 170 

A  sweet  hymn  born  in  sorrow 172 

Paul  Gerhardt  and  his  hymns 175 

Belief  brought  while  singing 178 

"  Relief  in  Jesus  illustrated  " 179 

A  popular  hymn  written  by  a  boy  ten  years  old 180 

Grigg  and  "Behold  a  stranger  at  the  door" ....181 

Gustavus's  batile-hj-mn 182 

Hymns  upon  the  battle  field 183 

Madame  Guyon  and  her  hymns 184 


1/ 


r? 


Contents.  19 


Harbaugh  and  his  hymns ^^^ 

Hart  and  his  hymns 1^^ 

Hymns  that  "mean  me" 1^^ 

Origin  of  a  hymn  by  quite  a  young  girl 200 

Lines  on  the  portrait  of  Heber 202 

Heber  and  his  hymns 205 

Origin  of  "From  Greenland's  icy  mountains" 208 

Origin  of"  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave" 211 

Rowland  Hill  and  his  hymns 212 

Lady  Huntingdon  and  her  hymns 220 

Incidents  illustrating  Lady  Hundingdon's  hymn 226 

A  timely  interference 228 

Huss  singing  in  the  flames  of  martyrdom 230 

Author  of  "Come,  humble  sinner  in  whose  breast" 233 

Judion  aad  his  h3mns 234 

John  Keble  and  his  hymns 240 

Kelly  and  his  hymns 243 

ishop  Ken  and  his  hymns - 244 

Singing  of  Kens  hymn  before  a  railroad  accident 255 

The  doxology  in  Libby  prison 256 

"  "         sung  thirty  five  times  in  one  day 257 

"  "  "  'mid  tears  of  joy 257 

"  "         heard  a  mile 260 

A  hymn  by  the  author  of  "  The  Star  Spangled  Banner  ' 291 

Luther  and  his*  hymns 262 

Luther's  snow  song ^66 

Lyte,  Author  of  "  Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken" 274 

Origin  of  "Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the  eventide" 276 

Decision  for  Christ  rewarded 2(7 

A  scorner  conquered  by  a  hymn 278 

A  hymn  deciding  a  soul's  destiny , 279 

Medley  and  his  hymns 2S0 

Author  of  "  I  would  not  live  alway" 288 

Moore's  hymn  illustrated 289 

Montgomery  and  his  hymns 290 

Unmarried  hymnists 300 

Neumark's  inpromptu  hymn 303 


20 


Contents. 


C 


Newton  and  bis  hymns 306 

A  mother's   prayer  and  her  son's  hymn 310 

Illustration  of  "  How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds  " 316 

Incidents  and  illustrations  of  Newton's  hymns 317 

Angel  sent  stanzas ; 319 

Singing  the  tears  away 321 

Two  officers  led  to  Christ  by  a  verse 323 

A  popular  hymn  written  by  an  Indian 324 

Occom's  hymn 327 

Occom's  hymn  illustrated 328 

A  dying  boy's  emphasis  to  a  hymn 329 

A  precious  hymn  by  a  converted  idolater 330 

Krishna  Pal's  hymn 333 

Palmer  and  his  hymns 334 

"Who  is  like  Jesus,  " 337 

Author  of  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  " 338 

Original  of  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name" 339 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  "  among  savages 340 

"Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem" 342 

The  hymn  that  told  Jack's  experience 343 

Author  of  "  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing" 344 

"Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing"   illustrated 349 

Ryland's  liyojn  composed  during  a  sermon 350 

Ryland  and  his  hymns 353 

Sachs,  the  shoemaker  hymn-writer , 354 

Shirley  and  his   hymns • 358 

Origin  of  '•  My  country  'tis  of  thee  " 359 

Anne  Steele  and  her  hymns 360 

Remarkable  eff"ect3  attending  a  closing  hymn 364 

Drawn  into  the  gospel  net  by  singing 365 

Stennett  and  his  hymns > 366 

Singing  "  On  Jordan's  stormy  bank  " 370 

"Infinite  day  excludes  the  night''   illustrated 371 

Influence  of  a  blind  tlave's  song 372 

The  blind  man  of  the  mine 373 

Singing  a  man  to  Christ 374 

Appropriate  hym:s  amid  Chicago's  fire 376 


r 


Contents.  21 


"That  sweet  music" ^'' 

Tennent,  and  the  music  he  heard  while  in  a  trance r-378 

Toplady,  author  of  "Rock  of  Ages" 380 

Alterations  in  "Rock  of  Ages" 384 

A  babe  hid  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock 386 

A  man  saved  by  a  cleft  in  a  rock 387 

"  Rock  of  ages"  uttered  with  Prince  Albert's  dying  breath 388 

Singingof  "Rock  of  Ages"  by  fifty  operatives 389 

"  Rock  of  ages"  floating  over  a  field  of  death 390 

"Rock  of  ages"  drowninrr  rowdy  songs 391 

Clinging  close  to  the  rock A 392 

the  clefts  in  the   rock 393 

"  Rock  of  ages"   illustrated 394 

A  new  version  of  "  Rock  of  ages  "  by  Ray  Palmer 395 

Isaac  Watts 3^6 

Abney  house  where  Watts  lived  and  died 399 

The  monument  of  Watts ^^^ 

Origin  of  "How  vain  are  all  things  here  below" 407 

Origin  of  Watt's  first  hymn '*08 

Origin  of  "There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight" 408 

Effects  of  singing  "Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise" 409 

A  heart  broken  by  a  hymn , '^'0 

Hymns  upon  the  battle   field 412 

Hymns  making  a  bloody   impression 413 

Illustrations  sf  "Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts." 414 

Conversion  through  the  illustration  of  a  hymn 415 

"  My  faith  would  lay  her  hand  "  illustrated 41G 

A  pirate  vessel  driven  away  by  the  singing  of  Watts'  hymn 417 

The  closed  lips -113 

A  singular  coincidence "^'9 

Illustrations  of  "  Alas!  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed" 420 

Watts'  hymn   illustrated 421 

"Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away  "  illustrated 422 

"A  guilty,  weak  and  helpless  worm"  illustrated 423 

"Love  so  amazing,  so  divine"  illustrated 424 

Singing  lies *25 

A  hvmn  illustrated  while  it  was  being  sung 42G 


22  Contents. 


Illustrations  of  "  Come,  Holy  Spirit  heavenly  dove  " 429 

A  hymn  that  a  church  refused  to  sing 430 

A  hymn  that  woke  up  the  sleepers 431 

Different  illustrations  of  Watts'  hymns 433 

Xerxes  illustrating  "And  must  this  body  die" 433 

Charles  Wesley  and  his  hymns 434 

Charles  Wesley's  last  hymn 437 

Origin  of  "  0  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing'' 438 

"A  charge  to  keep  I  have  "   illustrated  by  its  author 439 

Origin  of  "Jesus  lover  of  my  soul" 440 

""Jesus  lover  of  my  sout  '  sung  on  a  sinking  vessel 442 

Dr.  Ciiyler's  use  of  "  Jesus  lover  of  my  soul  " 445 

A  mother  floating  out  at  sea  singing  "Jesus  lover  of  soul' 446 

Singing  an  enemy  away 447 

"Jesus  lovar  of  my  soul"  in  a  hurricane 448 

The  last  hymn  on  a  wrecked  vessel 449 

"Like  the  sea" 450 

Singing  as  death's  "billows  near  me  roll  " 452 

Tiie  drummer  boy's  last  hymn 454 

Effects  of  singing  "Jesus  lover  of  my  soul" 456 

Dr.  Beecher's  last  utterance  of  "  Jesus  lover  of  my  soul" 460 

An  accident  the  occasion  of  a  hymn 461 

Cross  bearing  in  song 462 

.^n  actress  and  "  Depth  of  mercy  " 464 

Origin  of  "  Come,  thou  all  victorious  Lord" 465 

Wesley's  hymn  in  an  alley 466 

The  death  song  of  amurdered  Christian 468 

A  mob  occasioning  a  hymn 469 

Origin  of  "  Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land  " 470 

Illustration  of  "  Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land  '' 471 

Passing  awav 472 

A  man  dropping  dead  after  the  singing  of  a  hymn 473 

Eternal  things  impress 474 

Illustration  of  "Give  me  the  enlarged  desire" 475 

An  evening  funeral  song 476 

"Why  I  shall  sing  forever" 477 

John  Wesley  and  his  hymns 478 


r 


Contents.  23 


Hymn  sung  by  Wesley  when  dying 482 

Wesley's  hymn  Illustrated  by  "  Foolish  Dick  " 483 

Wesley  singing  at  the  table 484 

Singing  around  Mrs.  Wesley's  body  the  moment  after  death 485 

Henry  Kirk  White  and  his  hymns 486 

William  Williams  and  his  hymns 490 

Illustrations  of  "  Guide  me,  0  thou  great  Jehovah" 492 

Singing  Satan  away 494 

The  name  that  makes  "devils  fear  and  fly" 495 

Walford,  author  of  ''  Sweet  hour  of  prayer  " 496 

Xavier  and  his  hymn 497 

Zinzendorf  and  his  hymns 498 

Department  of  church  singing  and  music 503 

Churches  opposed  to  singing 504 

Singing  in  America  two  centuries  ago 50G 

Old  style  hymnology 507 

Church  singing  in  olden  times. 5C8 

\  hyojn  illustrated  by  a  choir  leader 511 

Expressive  epitaph  of  a  chorister 512 

A  hymn  illustrated  by  a  thunder  storm 513 

lucidents  of  the  tune  of  Old  Hundred 514 

Hymns  disjointed  by  fugue  tunes 516 

Massacre  of  church  music 518 

Choir  difficulties 519 

Solemn  mockery  in  singing 520 

Old  Adam  manifested  in  song 531 

A  clergyman  in  a  fix 523 

Inappropriate  hymns 520 

Roman  Catholic  hymns 526 

The  braying  of  an  ass  imitated  in  church  song 527 

A  maniac  subdued  by  the  singing  of  a  hymn 523 

A  life  saved  by  singing 530 

Saved  by  the  attraction  of  music 531 

Solomon's  song 532 

A  ruffian  charmed 533 

The  singing  of  Ira  D.  Sankey 534 

Synopsis  of  hymn- writers 537-558 

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ILLUSTRATED  HISTORY 


||tnn§  ani  tfeir  |«t|0r| 


Addison  and  his  Hymns. 


C 


tlVE  hymns  have  floated  down  the  stream  of  time, 
during  the  past  one  hundred  and  sixty  years,  that  have 
becon?e  so  endeared  to  the  people  of  God  that  scarcely 
any  church    hymn-book    can   be    found  without  them. 
They  are  the  production  of  the  polished  and   refined 
pen  of  Addison.     He  was  born  at  Milston,    England, 
in  1672,  and  was  the  son  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman. 

In  early  life  he  gave  many  evidences  of  a  precocious 
intellect.  A  poem  to  King  William,  in  ]  695,  and  one 
in  1695,  on  the  ''Peace  of  Ryswiek,"  procured  him  a 
pension  of  300^.  a  year.  With  this  pecuniary  aid  he  was 
enabled  in  early  manhood  to  extend  his  knowledge  of 
the  world   by  travel.     While  in   this  pursuit  he   met 


IJ 


26  Addison's  Hymns. 


with  many  narrow  escapes  from  death  on  sea  and  land. 
It  is  supposed,  when  in  after  years  lie  glanced  over  these 
many  dangers,  he  felt  inspired  to  say,  in  the  language  of 
his  well-known  hymn, — 

"  When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God, 
My  rising  si^ul  surveys, 
Transported  with  the  view,  I'm  lost 
In  wonder,  love  and  praise."  " 

After  publishing  his  travels  and  other  works,  he  rose 
in  popular  favor  till  in  1717  he  obtained  the  responsible 
position  of  Secretary  of  State. 

His  hymns  were  attached  to  articles  written  for  The 
Spectator.  The  .first  of  the  immortal  five  appeared  July 
26,  1712,  at  the  end  of  an  essay  on  "Trust  in  God,"  in 
which  he  says:  "The  person  who  has  a  firm  trust  in  the 
Supreme  Being  is  powerful  in  His  power,  wise  by  His 
wisdom,  happy  by  His  happiness.  He  reaps  the  benefit 
of  every  Divine  attribute,  and  loses  his  own  insufficiency 
in  the  fulness  of  infinite  perfection,"  which  beautiful 
truths  he  sets  forth  in  poetic  form  in  his  hymn : — 

"  The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare. 
And  feed  me  with  a  Shepherd  s  care, 
His  presence  shall  my  wants  supply, 
/nd  guard  me  with  a  watchful  eye  ; 
My  noon-day  wallts  he  shall  attend, 
And  all  my  midnight  hours  defend." 

The  following  month,  August  23,  he  sent  forth  his  next 

hymn,   attached  to  an   article  on   "The  right   means  to 

strengthen  faith,"  in  which  he  would  lead  us  up  to 

"  The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky," 

and  show  us  how  the  spangled  heavens 

" utter  forth  a  glorious  voice; 

For  ever  singing  as  they  shine, — 
The  Ijaiid   that  made   us  is  divine.'' 

A  month  later,  September  20,    appeared  a  paper  on 


G 


Addison's  hymns  continued^  27 


"The Sea,"  to  which  he  afterwards  added  the  hymn: — 

"  How  are  thy  servants  blessed,  0  Lord ! 
How  sure  is  their  defence." 

It  had  originally  ten  verses.     In  one  he  beautifully  says, 

"  The  storm  is  laid,  the  winds  retire, 
Obedient  to   thy  will ; 
The  sea,  that  roars  at  thy  command, 
At  thy  command  is  still." 

The  last  hymn  appeared  the  month  following,  October 
18,  1716.  In  tlie  prose  article  that  preceded,  it  is  said, 
"■  Among  all  the  reflections  which  usually  arii-e  in  the 
mind  of  a  sick  man,  who  has  time  and  inclination  to 
consider  his  approaching  end,  there  is  none  more  natural 
than  that  of  his  going  to  appear  naked  and  unbodied 
before  Him,  who  made  him." 

"When,  rising  from  the  bed  of  death, 
O'erwhelmed  with  guilt  and  fear, 
I  see  my  Maker  face  to  face  — 
Oh!  how  shall  I  appear?'' 

When  his  dying  hour  drew  near,  it  was  with  such 
calm  composure  that  he  could  look  ahead  to  the  time 
when  he  should  meet  his  "  Maker  face  to  face,"  that  he 
sent  for  his  step-son,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  saying  with 
all  the  solemnity  of  death's  surroundings,  those  ever 
memorable  words:—  "I  have  sent  for  you,  that  you  may 
see  how  a  Christian  can  die." 

To  this  a  poet  thus  refers : — 

"  He  taught  us  how  to  live  ;  and  Oh  !  too  high 
The  price  of  knowlege  !  taught  us  how  to  die.'' 

He   died   at   the    Holland   House,    June  17,    1719. 

Although  unable  to    finish    his  intended   version  of  the 

Psalms,  yet  he  can  no\y  fulfil  his  heart's  desire  as  thus 

expressed  in  one  of  his  hymns  : — 

^  "Through  all  eternity  to  thee 

A  joyful  song  I'll  raise  ; 
But  oh  !  eternity's  too  short 
To  utter  all  thy  praise." 


c 


28  Addison's  hymns  continued. 


"  Sing  and  Pray,  Eternity  Lawns. " 

HEN  the  Kev.  Dr.   Eddy  was  suddenly  confronted 
with   the  idea,   contained   in  Addison's   hymn,   of 
meeting  his  "  Maker  face  to  face,"  he  could  joyously 
answer  the  question : — 

"  Oh  !  how  shall  I  appear?  " 

When,  by  medical  advice,  the  unexpected  news  was 
first  communicated  to  him,  he  welcomed  it  with  great 
calmness.  After  adjusting  his  worldly  affairs,  "he 
marched  rapidly  to  his  end,  a  shouting  victor  all  the 
way." 

To  Bishop  Janes  he  remarked,  "  I  am  resting  in  Jesus, 
O  so  sweetly!     A  poor  sinner  saved  by  grace,  but  saved." 

"  Beyond    the  parting  and  the  meeting, 
I  shall  be  soon. 
Beyond  the  farewell  and  the  greeting, 
Beyond  the  pulse's  fever  beating, 
I  shall  be  soon.  " 

As  his  weeping  family  gathered  around  his  death-bed, 
he  extended  his  hands  over  them,  and  pronounced  the 
apostolic  benediction. 

His  joyous  countenance  seemed  to  be  lit  up  as  with 
light  streaming  through  the  gates  of  the  celestial  city. 
In  his  ecstacy  of  joy  he  raised  his  trembling  hands  trying 
to  clasp  them,  but  unable  to  guide  them  in  his  weakness, 
they  would  pass  each  other  while,  with  clear  voice,  he 
w^ould  sing  out,  "Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!"  His  last 
words  Avere,  "Sing  and  pray,  eternity  dawns." 

Thus  amid  the  songs  of  earth,  he  passed  to  the  halle- 
lujahs above.     Well  may  we  say  with  AVatts : — 

"  My  willing  soul  would  stay 
In  such  a  frame  as  this, 
And  sit  and  sing  herself  away 
To  everlasting  bliss.  " 


Sarah  F,  Adams.  29 


Author  of  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee. " 

^HIS  language  was  the  heart-utterance  of  Mrs.  Sarah 
^  Flower  Adams,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Flower,  editor 
of  The  Cambridge  Intelligencer,  and  wife  of  AVilliam 
B.  Adams,  an  eminent  engineer,  and  also  a  contributor 
to  some  of  the  principal  newspapers  and  reviews. 

She  was  born  February  22,  1805. 

Her  mother  is  described  as  a  lady  of  talent,  as  was  her 
elder,  sister  Eliza,  who  was  also  an  authoress. 

She  was  noted  in  early  life  for  the  taste  she  manifested 
for  literature,  and  in  maturer  years,  for  great  zeal  and 
earnestness  in  her  religious  life,  which  is  said  to  have 
produced  a  deep  impression  on  those  who  met  with  her. 
Mr.  Miller  says:  "The  prayer  of  her  own  hymn,  'Near- 
er, my  God,  to  Thee, '  had  been  answered  in  her  own 
experience.  Her  literary  tastes  extended  in  various  di- 
rections. She  contributed  prose  and  poetry  to  the  peri- 
odicals, and  her  art-criticisms  were  vahied.  She  also 
wrote  a  Catechism  for  chihlren,  entitled  'The  Flock  at 
the  Fountain'  (1845).  It  is  Unitarian  in  its  sentiment, 
and  is  interspersed  with  hymns.  She  also  wrote  a  dra- 
matic poem,  in  five  acts,  on  the  martyrdom  of 'Vivia 
Perpetua.'  This  was  dedicated  to  her  sister,  in  some 
touching  verses.  Her  sister  died  of  a  pulmonary  com- 
plaint in  1847,  and  attention  to  her  in  her  affliction 
enfeebled  her  own  health,  and  she  also  gradually  ^yore 
away,  'almost  her  last  breath  bursting  into  unconscious 
song.'"     Thus  illustrating  the  last  stanza: — 

"Sun,  moon,  and  stars  forgot, 
Upward  I  fly, 
Still  all  my  soncj  shall  be, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee.  " 

She  died' August  13,  1849,  eight  years  after  the  issue 
of  her  popular  hymn,  and  was  buried  in  Essex,  England. 


30  S.  F.  Adams'  hymn  illustrated. 


A  Blind  Girl's  Utterance  of  "Nearer  my  God." 

/J/ljf  E  condense  a  touching  narrative  as  given  by  an  anon- 

C^  ymoiis  writer.     Ethel    Bent  had   been    for  weeks 

stretched  upon  a  sick  bed,  where  she  was  brought  nigh 

unto  death.     The  disease  had  so  aifected  her  eyes  that 

she  liad  to  be  kept  in  a  dark  room,  and  it  was  feared 

that  if  she  did  get  well  she  might  still  lose  her  eyesight. 

Ethel  could   not   believe  it   possible  that  so  dread  a 

calamity  could  overtake  her.     While  alone,  one  Sabbath 

morning,  she  said  to  herself  in  her  darkened   chamber, 

"The  Bible  says  we  are  not  tried  above  that  we  are  able 

to  bear,  and  I  could  not  endure  that.     Oh!  no,  I  shall 

not  be  blind."     While    musing  thus  a  low  sweet  voice 

near  her   said  :  "Sister  Ethel,  may  I  come  in?" 

"Why  yes,  Ruthie,  if  you  want  to." 

"I  wanted  to  recite  my  hymn  to  you;  it  is  some  new 

verses  to  'Nearer  my  God,  to  thee,'  and  I  like  them  so 

much." 

"  Well  dear  say  them  ;  I  dont  mind. " 
"  If  where  they  lead  my  Lord, 
I,  too.  be  borne, 
Planting  my  steps   in  big, 

Weary   and  worn — 
May    the   path   carry   me 
Nearer,  my  God,   to  Thee, 
Nearer   to   Thee!" 

"That's  not  for  me,"  thought  Ethel,  "it  means  the 
old-time  martyrs."  She  tried  to  .shake  oif  the  feeling. 
How  could  the  dark  path  bring  her  nearer  to  God ! 

But  the  childish  voice  continued, — 

"If  Thou    the    cup   of  pain 
Givest  to  drink, 
Let  not    my   trembling  li{)S 

From   the   draught  shrink; 
So   by    my   woes   to   be 
Nearer,    my    God,   Thee, 
Nearer  to   Thee  !'" 


c 


S.  F.  Adams'  hymn  illustrated.  31 


"Never  mind  finishing  it  Ruthie;  my  head  aches,  and  I 
want  to  be  alone. " 

Once  the  thin,  white  hand  Avas  raised  as  if  to  dash 
"the  cup  of  pain"  from  her  lips. 

Days  passed.  As  her  strength  came  back  the  inflam- 
mation in  her  eyes  decreased.  She  no  longer  spoke  of 
her  hopes  and  fears.  She  looked  more  and  more  calmly 
at  her  cross.  The  path,  though  dark,  had  one  ray  of 
light,  which,  if  followed,  must  bring  her  to  her  Saviour, 
for  it  came  from  him. 

One  day  she  cried,  "O  mamma!  I  cannot  M'ait;  let 
the  light  in  now;"  but  her  mother  said,  "Have  patience 
darling;  tlie  noon-day  is  too  bright;  I  will  promise  you 
to  let  the  morning  sun  into  your  room.  " 

All  day  long  she  waited,  her  lips  moving  in  prayer. 
The  morning  dawned. 

"  Open  the  blinds  wide  mamma;  let  in  all  the  light 
you  can  before  I  take  off  the  bandage." 

She  turned  toward  the  window;  on  her  bare  arms  she 
felt  the  warm  sun  and  morning  breese,  but  no  light  came 
to  her  eyes. 

"  Mamma,  mamma,  why  are  you  so  silent?  Is  the 
room  light?  " 

Her  mother's  low  pained  voice  answered  "My  darling, 
the  sun  shines  in  your  face." 

She  sank  upon  her  knees;  the  clasped  hands  where  up- 
lifted, as  if  reaching  for  something  unattainable;  the  face 
quivered  with  inward  anguish;  but  the  expression  of  her 
sightless  eyes  was  more  beautiful  than  in  their  days  of 
undenied  beauty  they  had  ever  been. 

As  her  mother  bent  over  her  she  heard  the  pale  lips 
whisper — 

"  So  by  my   woes   to   be 
Nearer,   ray   God,  to   Thee, 
Nearer  to   Thee. " 


32 


Hymn  hy  Edioin  M.  Long. 


DBAW    ME,  SAVIOUR,  NEARER. 

Words  and  Music  by  Rev.  E.  M.  Long. 


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Hymn  by  E.  31.  Long  continued.  33 


As  the  eagles  soaring, 
Higher  and  higher  ascend, 

Thus,  while  Thee  adoring, 
Upwiird  I  ■would  tend. 

Further  from  earih  and  sin  away, 

Nearer  heaven's  perfect  day  ; 

Even  now,  oh,  may  I  be 

Drawn  still  closer,  closer  to  thee. 

Closer,  closer,  closer  to  thee. 

Aa  the  river  flowing, 

Ever  draws  nearer  the  sea, 

Thus  would  I  keep  going, 
Till  I'm  lost  in  thee. 

Daily  advance  and  grow  in  grace, 

Till  I  see  thee  face  to  face, 

Then  I'll  sing  eternally, 

Drawn  still  closer,  closer  to  thee. 

Closer,  closer,  closer  to  thee. 


fAYS  Jesus,  "And  T,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me.  " 

The  sainted  Alfred  Cookman  remarked  on  his  death- 
bed, "  Jesus  is  drawing  me  closer  and  closer  to  his  great 
heart  of  infinite  love/'  To  his  wife  he  said,  "I  am 
Christ's  little  infant.  Just  as  you  fold  your  little  babe 
to  your  bosom,  so  I  amnestied  close  to  the  heart  of  Jesus. " 

Albert  Barnes,  commenting  on  Christians  mounting 
"up  with  wings  as  eagles,"  says:  "The  image  is  de- 
rived from  the  fact  that  the  eagle  rises  on  the  most  vig- 
erous  wing  of  any  bird,  and  ascends  apparently  farther 
towards  the  sun.  The  figure  denotes  strength  and  vigor 
of  purpose;  strong  and  manly  piety;  an  elevation  above 
the  world;  communion  with  God,  and  a  nearness  to  his 
throne — as  the  eagle  ascends  towards  the  sun." 

"Ah,"  said  a  dying  soldier,  "tell  my  mother  that  last 
night  there  was  not  one  cloud  between  my  soul  and 
Jesus. " 


34 


Henry  AJford  and  Jus  hymns. 


Alford  and  his  Hymns. 

fEAN  HENRY  ALFORD  was  a  son  of  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  of  the  same  name.  He  was  born  in  1810, 
and  closed  his  earthly  career  in  1871.  He  is  widely 
known  through  his  great  work,  "The  Greek  Testament 
with  Notes." 

He  began  very  early  in  life  to  "make  his  mark, " — at 
least  his  pencil  marks.  For  in  his  memoir  it  is  stated 
that  when  only  six  years  of  age  he  wrote  and  illustrated 
a  book  of  fourteen  pages,  three  inches  by  two  in  size. 
"The  travels  of  St  Paul  from  his  Conversion  to  his  Death, 
with  a  book  of  Plates.  " 

When  ten  years  old  he  made  a  more  durable  mark  with 
ink,  in  a  work  that  he  wrote  entitled  :  "Looking  unto 
Jesus,  or  the  Believers  Sup,port  under  Trials  and  Afflic- 
tions,    By  Henry  Alford  Jun.     1st  edition." 

At  this  time  he  began  to  court  the  Muses,  and  in  his 
eleventh  year  composed  "A  Collection  of  Hymns  for  Sun- 
diy  Occasions."  Among  the  number  is  one  that  begins  — 

"Life  is  a  journey,  beavea  is  our  home," 

and  ends  with  this  verse: — 

"  Just  as  the  school-boy  longing  for  his  home. 
Leaps  forth  for  gladness  when  the  hour  is  come  ; 
So  true  believers,  eager  for  the  skies. 
Released  by   death  on  wings  of  triumph  rise.'' 

The  figure  drawn  from  a  school-boy's  experience,  came 
readily  to  him  at  this  period;  for  at  this  time  he  was  at- 
tending a  new  school  he  did  not  like,  and  had  some 
symptons  of  that  old  complaint,  called  home-sickness. 

In  his  sixteenth  year  he  wrote  in  his  Bible,  "I  do  this 
day,  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  my  own  soul,  renew 
my  covenant  with  God.  and  solemnly  determine  hence- 
forth to  become  His,  and  do  His  work  as  far  as  in  me 
lies." 


r 


HENRY  ALFORD. 


Alford's  hymns  continued. 


"Saying  grace"  he  did  not  simply  reserve  for  meal 
time.  But  also  as  he  obtained  food  for  the  mind. 
And  so  habituated  did  he  become  in  this  that  as  he  clos- 
ed his  books  after  a  hard  day's  study,  he  would  "stand 
up  as  at  the  end  of  a  meal,  and  thank  God  for  what  he 
had  received. " 

This  early  habit  of  acknowledging  God  in  all  his 
ways,  of  constantly  looking  for  divine  guidance  was  after- 
wards richly  rewarded  in  his  eventful  life.  It  also  found  a 
natural  expression  in  the  beautiful  hymn  that  he  wrote 
when  but  sixteen  years  of  age.  A  hymn  well  worthy 
to  stand  by  the  side  of  ^yilliams'  grand  invocation: — 
"Guide  me,  0  thou  great  Jehovah." 

We  are  fflad  to  meet  with  it  in  some  American 
hymnals,  lately  issued.     We  give  it  herewith: — 

"  Forth  to  tlie  land  of  promise  bound, 

Our  desert  path  we  tread  ; 
God's  fiery  pillar  for  our  guide, 

His  Captain  at  our  head. 
"E'en  now  we  faintly  trace  the  hills. 

And  catch  their  distant  blue  ; 
And  the  bright  city'  s  gleaming  spires 

Rise  dimly  on  our  view. 
"  Soon,  when  the  desert  shall  be  crossed,. 

The  flood  of  death  past  o'er, 
Our  pilgrim  host  shall  safely  land 

On  Canaan's  peaceful  shore. 
"  There  love  shall  have  its  perfect  work, 

And  prayer  be  lost  in  praise  ; 
And  all  the  servants  of  our  God 

Their  endless  anthems  raise.  " 

Plis  "Poetical  Works"  reached  a  fourth  edition  in 
18G5.  In  1867  he  issued  a  collection  of  hymns  entitled, 
"  The  Year  of  Praise,"  of  which  55  were  of  his  own 
composition.  One  is  found  in  nearly  all  collections, 
commencinof, 


"  Come,  ye  thankful  people,  come. 


QZ 


c 


38  AIford\  hymns  continued. 


While  once  waiting  for  some   bishops  he  wrote : — 
"  I'm    glad    I  m    not  a    bishop, 
To  have  to  walk  in  gaiters, 
And  get  my  conduct  pulled  about 
B}'  democrat  dictators.'' 

Alford  manifested  wonderful  powers  of  versatility. 
It  is  said,  "  He  was  a  painter,  a  mechanic,  a  musician. 
He  was  a  poet,  a  preaclier,  a  scholar,  and  a  critic." 

He  loved  to  contemplate  the 

" -raptured    greeting 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore.  " 

Say  he,  "  Our  tlioughts  have  been  much  turned  of  late 
to  the  eternal  state.  Half  of  our  children  are  there,  and 
where  the  treasure  is  there  will  the  heart  be  also."  One 
of  his  most  popular  hymns  vividly  pictures  the  glories 
of  the  redeemed.  The  singing  of  it  formed  part  of  his 
own  funeral  service.     In  it  he  says ; 

"Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
In  sparkling  raiment  bright,  ^ 
The  armies  of  the  ransomed  saints 

Throng  up  the  steeps  ot  light. 
'Tis  finished — all  is  finished — 

Their  fight  with  Death  and  Sin  : 
Fling  open  wide  the  golden  gates, 
And  let  the  victors  in. 
"What  rush  of  hallelujahs 
Fills  all  the  earth  and  sky  ! 
"What  ringing  of  a  thousand  harps 

Bespeaks  the  triumph  nigh  1 
0  day  for  which  creation, 
And  all  its  tribes  were  made  ; 
0  joy,  for  all  its  former  woes 
A  thousand  fold  repaid. 
"  0  then  what  raptured  greetings 
On  Canaan's  happy  shore  ; 
What  knitting  severed  friendships  up 
Where  partings  are  no  more, 
'  Then  eyes  with  joy  shall  sparkle, 

That  brimmed  with  tears  of  late  ; 
Orphans  no  longer  fatherless, 
Nor  widows   desolate.  " 


Alford's  hymns  continued. 


39 


As  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  and  in 
many  other  ways,  Alford  evinced  a  catholic  spirit  that 
endeared  him  to  many  outside  of  his  own  branch  of  the 
church.  Asking  a  neighboring  clergyman  to  help  him 
find  a  curate,  he  said,  "  I  want  him  to  teach  and  preach 
Jesus  Christ  and  not  the  church,  and  to  be  fully  prepared 
to  recognize  the  pious  Dissenter  as  a  brother  in  Christ, 
and  as  much  a  member  of  the  church  as  ourselves." 

In  his  sixtieth  year  he  was  compelled  by  failing  health 
to  heed  his  physician's  advice  and  "do  nothing,"  and 
soon  after  entered  into  the  rest  that  remaineth  to  the 
people  of  God. 

On  his  tomb  was  carved,  by  his  request,  the  exjjressive 
words : — 

THE  INN  OF  A  TKAVELLER  ON  HIS  WAT  TO  JERUSALEM. 

In  his  dying  moments  he  sweetly  realized  the  desire 
ofhis  heart  as  expressed  in  the  following  hymn,  which 
Avas  sung  in  the  great  cathedral  on  the  day  of  his  fu- 
neral : — 

"Jesus, when  I  fainting  lie, 
And  the  world  is  flitting  by, 

Hold  up  my  head. 
"When  the  cry  is  '  Thou  must  die, ' 
And  the  dread  hour  draweth  nigh, 

Stand  by  my  bed. 

'  Jesus,  when  the  worst  is  o'er, 
And  they  bear  me  from  the  door, 

Meet  the  sorrowing  throng. 
'Weep  not,'  let  the  mourner  hear, 
"Widow's  woe  and  orphans'  tear 

Turn  into  song. 

"Jesus,  in  the  last  great  day, 
Come  thou  down  and  touch  my  clay, 

Speak  the  word  '  Arise  ; '  • 

Friend  to  gladsome  friend  restore, 
Living,  praying  evermore 
Above  the  skies." 


c 


40  Hymn  by  Alfred  the  Great. 


King  Alfred's  Hymn. 

fNE  thousand  years  ago  there  lived  a  Christian  King 
who  .'ascended  the  Engh'sh 'throne  in  871,  and  was 
justly  distinguished  as  "  Alfred  the  Great.  "  Although 
he  was  twelve  years  old  before  he  was  taught  the  alpha- 
bet, yet  he  afterwards  Jipplied  himself  with  such  diligence 
to  his  studies  that  he  became  celebrated  as  the  author  of 
numerous  works,  the  founder  of  seminaries  and  of  the 
University  of  Oxford. 

Though  burdened  with  the  cares  of  a  kingdom,  he 
could  find  time  and  pleasure  in  greeting  the  morning 
light  with  songs  of  praise,  and  saying  with  King  David, 
"Yea,  I  will  sing  aloud  of  thy  mercy  in  the  morning." 
This  is  evident  from  his  sweet  morning  hymn,  which 
was  translated  by  Earl  Nelson,  and  which  still  finds  a 
place  in  different  church  hymn-books.    It  begins  thus : — 

"As  the  sun  doth  daily  rise 
Bright'ning   all  the   morning  skies, 
So  to  thee  with  one  accord     - 
Lift  we  up  our  hearts,  0  Lord ! 

After  many  conflicts  with  the  Danes,  who  invaded  his 
land,  he  was  at  last  compelled  for  a  time  to  abandon  his 
throne,  and  conceal  himself  in  disguise  in  a  cottage  of 
one  of  his  herdsmen.  While  performing  menial  service 
in  his  hiding-place  his  hostess  gave  him  a  severe  repre- 
mand  for  permitting  some  oatmeal  cakes  to  be  burned, 
which,  while  baking,  she  had  directed  him  to  watch; 
saying,  "  No  wonder  thou  art  a  poor  houseless  vagrant 
with  such  neglect  of  business,  I  shall  set  by  all  the  burnt 
cakes  for  thy  portion  of  the  week's  bread,  and  thou  shalt 
have  no  other  till  they  are  all  eaten ."  Dependent  thus 
on  ethers  for  his  daily  bread,  although  a  King,  he  could 
in  after  years  feel  the  import  of  his  words  addressed 
to  the  King  of  Kings  in  the  second  verse  of  his  hymn, — 


Alfred's  hymn  continued. 


41 


r 


"  Day  by  day  provide  us  food, 
For  from  thee  come  all  things  good ; 
Strength  unto  our  souls  afford 
From  thy  living  Bread,  0  Lord  1 

In  the  defence  of  his  country  he  was  compelled  to  fight 
no  less  than  fifty  six  battles  by  sea  or  land,  in  which  he 
exposed  himselt  to  innumerable  dangers,  and  no  doubt 
often  uttered  the  prayer  contained  in  the  third  verse, — 

"  Be  onr  Guard  in  sin  and  strife ; 
Be  the  Leader  of  our  life; 
Lest  like  sheep  we  stray  abroad. 
Stay  our  wayward  feet,  0  Lord! 

Having  translated  the  Psalms  into  English,  and  con- 
stantly carried  a  copy  in  his  bosom,  the  fourth  verse 
wa.s  certainly  the  language  of  his  heart : — 

"  Quickened  by  the  Spirit's  grace, 
All  thy  holy  will  to  trace. 
While  we  daily  search  thy  Word 
Wisdom  true  impart,  0  Lord  ! 

The  hordes  that  stole  around  at  night  and  rendered 
life  insecure,  gave  emphasis  to  his  figure  of  the  fifth  verse, 

"  When  hours  are  dark  and  drear, 
When  the  Tempter  lurketh  near, 
By  thy  strength'ning  grace  outpoured, 
Savt  the  tempted  ones,  0  Lord  ! 

Before  a  critical  battle  with  the  pagans,  Alford  man- 
aged to  get  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  disguised  as  a 
travelling  minstrel,  and  with  his  harp  and  enrapturing 
song,  was  enabled  so  to  win  their  applause  that  they 
detained  him  three  days  and  nights. 

The  knowledge  he  thus  obtained  of  the  position  and 
forces  of  the  foe,  was  the  means  of  saving  his  country. 
After  he  became  victor,  many  of  the  pagans  remained 
in  England,  renounced  their  idolatry,  and  were  baptized 
on  profession  of  their  Christian  faith. 


1/ 


42  Ilichard  Baxter  and  his  hymns. 


C 


Author  of  "Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care." 


^ 


|i)  HE  name  of  Richard  Baxter  is  endeared  to  many 
(S  through  the  reading  of  his  two  widely  known  books, 
The  Call  to  the  Unconverted,  and  the  Saints'  Ever- 
lasting Rest.  He  was  born  at  Rowton,  in  Shropshire, 
England,  on  the  12th  of  November,  1615. 

His  conversion  took  place  when  about  the  age  of  fifteen, 
by  reading  "an  old  torn  ])ook,  lent  by  a  poor  man  to  his 
father,  entitled  'Bunny's  Resolutions.' "  " Sibb's  Bruised 
Reed,'"  was  also  of  great  assistance.  Thus  says  he: 
"  Without  any  means  but  books,  was  God  pleased  to  re- 
solve me  for  Himself." 

Montgomery  gives  Baxter  a  place  among  the  poets  of 
England.  Of  his  hymns  and  poems,  contained  in  the 
volume,  entitled,  ^^  Poetical  Fragments,^'  he  says  that 
they  are  "far  above  mediocrity  in  many  passages  of 
poetry." , 

As  ti^nes  were  not  numerous  in  those  days,  Baxter 
prepared  some  of  his  hymns  so  that  they  could  be  sung 
either  as  long  or  common  metre,  by  using  or  omitting 
the  words  contained  in  brackets.  He  claimed  to  be  the 
inventor  of  this  plan.  We  herewith  give  a  specimen 
of  a  part  of  his  version  of  the  twenty-third  Psalm : — 

"The  Lord  himself  my  Sheperd  is, 

Who  doth  me  feed  and  [  safely  ]  keep  ; 
What  can  I  want  that's  truly  good, 
While  I  am  [one  of]  his  own  sheep? 

"  He  makes  me  to  lie  down  and  rest 
In  [pleasant]  pastures,  tender  grass; 
He  keeps,  and  gently  leadeth  me 
Near  [tiie  sweet]  stream  of  quietness. 

*'  My  failing  soul  he  doth  restore, 

And  lead  [in  safe]   and  righteous  ways, 
And  all  this  freely  that  his  grace. 
And  [holy]  name  may  have  the  praise." 


Hichard  Baxter  continued.  45 


Baxter  jjrepared  a  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms 
which  was  issued  the  year  after  his  death.  One  of  his 
liymus  is  almost  universally  found  in  hymn  books. 
It  is  one  among  the  many  influences  that  he  set  in  mo- 
tion two  centuries  ago,  that  still  lives.  In  the  original 
it  consists  of  eight  eight-line  stanzas,  and  begins  :--- 

"  My  whole,  though  broken  heart,  0  Lord! 
From  henceforth  shall  be  thine.  " 

It  was  entitled,  "The  Covenant  and  Confidence  of 
Faith."  At  the  end  he  adds  the  following  note: — "This 
convenant  my  dear  wife,  in  her  former  sickness,  sub- 
scribed with  a  cheerful  will. " 

We  will  embody  it  among  some  of  the  many  incidents  of 
his  life  that  illustrate  its  sentiments.  The  first  verse  as 
now  iu  ase  commences, — 

'  Baxter  had  a  bodily  frame  so  frail  that  it  seemed  ready 
at  any  time  to  fall  to  pieces. 

His  studious  habits  he  explained  on  this  wise,  "Weak- 
ness and  pain  helped  me  to  study  how  to  die;  that  set 
me  to  study  how  to  live."  When  on  his  death  bed  the 
intensity  of  pain  constrained  him  to  pray  to  God  for  his 
release  by  death,  he  would  check  himself  by  saying,  "'It  is 
not  for  me  to  prescribe:  when  thou  wilt,  what  thou  wilt, 
how  thou  wilt. " 

To  this  language  a  half  century  later  Dr.  Watts  re- 
fered  in  his  dying  moments,  "it  is  good  to  say  as  did 
Mr  Baxter,    '  ^Vhat,  when,  and  where  God  pleases.' " 

When  Baxter  first  went  to  Kidderminster  the  people 
were  "ignorant,  coarse  and  of  loose  manners;  supersti- 
tious ,  sensual  and  easily  roused  to  deeds  of  violence  and 
brutal  outrage;"  and  yet  that  wilderness  became  as  the 
garden  of  the  Lord  through  the  faithful  labors  of  this 
man  of  God. 


"  Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care 
Whether  I  die  or  live." 


46  Richard  Baxter  continued. 


He  toiled  and  prayed  until  it  could  be  said  ''  from  every 
house  within  his  pastorate  there  was  daily  the  all  but 
ceaseless  voice  of  psalms  and  hymns.  He  was  literally 
compassed  about  with  songs  of  deliverance." 

Family  worship  was  generally  practiced  among  his  peo- 
ple. •  He  says  that  as  one  passed  along  the  street  on  a 
Babbath  evening,  "one  might  hear  a  hundred  families 
singing  psalms  and  repeating  sermons. " 

Although  he  observed  great  strictness  in  the  admission 
to  the  church  yet  his  membership  increased  to  six  hun- 
dred communicants;  he  says  there  were  not  twelve  of 
whom  he  had  not  a  good  hope. 

A  hundred  years  later,  Dr.  Fawcett,  one  of  his  succes- 
sors says, "  the  religious  spirit  thus  happily  introduced 
by  Baxter  is  yet  to  be  traced  in  the  town  and  neighbor- 
hood. " 

He  spoke  of  Kidderminster  as  a  "place  which  had  the 
chiefest  of  my  labors,  and  yielded  me  the  greatest  fruits 
and  comfort."  He  told  the  people  that  he  came  with  his 
heart  stirred  up  "  to  speak  to  sinners  with  some  compas- 
sion, as  a  dying  man  to  dying  men."  Here  it  was  he  uttered 
his  loud  "Call  to  the  Unconverted,"  and  in  his  earnest 
preaching  exemplified  his  couplet: — 

"  I'd  preach  as  though  I  ne'er  shouH  preach  again, 
And  as  a  dying  man  to  dying  men." 

This  was  indeed  characteristic  of  Baxter  throughout 
a  long  life;  even  Mdien  near  four  score  years  of  age 
he  still  staggered  up  the  pulpit  steps  to  proclaim  the 
gospel. 

An  old  gentleman,  who  heard  him  preach,  related  that 
when  he  ascended  the  pulpit,  with  a  man  following  him 
to  prevent  his  falling  backward,  and  to  support  liim,  if 
needful  in  the  pulpit,  many  persons  would  be  ready  to 
say  he  was  more  fit  for  the  coffin,  than  for  the  pulpit. 

It  was  feared  the  last  time  he  preached  that  lie  would 


c 


Richard  Baxter  continued.  47 


have  (lied  in  the  pulpit.     Well  did  he  illustrate  the  sen- 
timent of  the  second  verse  of  his  hymn — 

"  If  life  be  long  I  will  be  glad, 
That  I  may  long  obey  ; 
If  short  yet  why  should  I  be  sad  / 
To  soar  to  endless  day?"         / 

May  1662,  the  king  set  his  seal  of  approval  to  the 
famous  "Act  of  Conformity/'  by  which  every  clergyman 
of  the  Church  of  England  must,  on  the  24th  of  August 
following,  "openly  and  publickly,  before  the  congrega- 
tion there  assembled,  declare  his  unfeigned  assent  and 
consent  to  the  use  of  all  things  "  in  the  "  Book  of  Common 
Prayer." 

Baxter  was  among  the  two  thousand  godly  ministers 
who  were  willing  to  leave  their  weeping  flocks,  and  their 
pecuniary  support,  to  face  poverty  and  persecution  for 
conscience's  sake.  As  many  were  not  silenced  by  this, 
the  "Couventical  Act"  Avas  passed  in  1664,  by  which  "  the 
meeting  of  more  than  four  persons  in  any  other  mauner 
than  allowed  by  the  liturgy  and  practice  of  the  Church 
of  Eugland  is  f(jrbidden,"  under  a  penalty  of  a  fine  or 
imprisonment.  To  prevent  the  Xon-conformist  ministers 
being  even  among  their  flocks,  the  "Five  Mile  Act" 
followed,  which  prevented  them  from  coming  or  being 
within  five  miles  of  any  city  or  town  corporate,  or  any 
place  where  they  had  at  any  time  exercised  their  ministry. 

Although  Baxter  yielded  obedience  to  the  law  so  far  as 
to  abstain  from  public  preaching,  yet  he  kept  up  family 
worship,  and  as  some,  of  their  own  accord,  would  drop  in 
and  swell  the  number  beyond  the  legal  limit  of  "four," 
a  warrant  was  issued  for  his  arrest,  and  he  was  incarcer- 
ated for  six  months  in  Clerkenwell  prison. 

Some  years  later  having  dared  to  deliver  five  sermons, 
and  to  live  in  a  corporate  town,  his  enemies  seized  him 
again.     His  goods  were  taken  from  him  and  sold,  "even 


M 


48  Richard  Baxter  continued. 


to  the  bed  that  he  lay  sick  on."  ''  When  they  liad 
taken  and  sold  all"  he  says,  "and  I  had  borrowed  some 
beddhig  and  necessaries  of  the  buyer,  I  was  never  the 
quieter." 

At  length  when  unable  to  find  any  other  fault, they 
discovered  a  comment  in  his  "  Paraphrase  on  the  New 
Testament"  in  which  he  had  M^-itten  some  censures  on 
persecuting  prelates,  and  on  closing  the  mouths  of  godly 
ministers  who  sought  to  preach  in  the  name  of  their 
Master.  This,  as  they  thought,  justified  the  charge  of  se- 
dition Avhich  they  now  brought  against  him.  He  was 
summoned  to  appear  for  his  trial  before  the  notorious 
Jeffries.  This  furnished  the  Judge  an  opportunity  to 
give  vent  to  his  coarse,  vulgar  spleen.  To  empty  the 
vials  ot  his  wrath  upon  the  head  of  an  innocent  old  man. 

After  calling  him  a  rogue,  rascal,  an  old  blockhead, 
an  unthankful  villain,  and  other  vile  epithets,  Baxter 
ventured  to  put  in  a  word  of  explanation.  "Richard, 
Richard,"  roared  the  judge,  "dost  thou  think  we  will 
hear  thee  poison  the  court? 

"Richard,  thou  art  an  old  fellow,  an  old  knave;  thou 
hast  written  books  enough  to  load  a  cart,  every  one  as 
full  of  sedition,  I  might  say  treason,  as  an  egg  is  full  of 
meat.     Hadst  thou  been    whipped  out  of  the  trade  forty 

years  ago,  it  had  been  happy Come,  what  do  you 

say  for  yourself,  you  old  knave? — come  speak  up.  What 
doth  he  say?  I  am  not  afraid  of  you,  for  all  the  snivel- 
ing calves  you  have  got  about  you,"  (alluding  to  some 
pei'sons  near  Baxter  who  were  in  tears). 

To  this  shameful  tirade  Baxter  meekly  replied,  "These 
things  will  be  understood  some  day,  and  lifting  up  his 
eyes  to  heaven  he  added ;  "  I  am  not  concerned  to  an- 
swer such  stuff;  but  am  ready  to  produce  my  writings  for 
refutation  of  all  this;  and  my  life  and  conversation  are 
known  to  many  in  this  nation. " 


Richard  Baxter  continued.  51 


As  neither  justice  nor  mercy  could  be  obtained  before 
this  tribunal,  Baxter    was  ])rouoiinced  guilty. 

While  afterwards  confined  for  two  years  in  the  dark 
cells  of  a  2)rison,  and  comparing  his  mock  trial  with  the  one 
through  which  his  Saviour  passed,  he  could  draw  com- 
fort from  the  third  stanza  of  his  hymn : — 

"Christ  leads  me  through  no  darker  rooms 
Thaa  He  went  through  before  ; 
He  that  into  God's  kingdom  comes, 
Must  enter  by  this  door." 

Notwithstanding  his  life-long  weakness  and  pains — the 
bitter  persecution  and  cruel  imprisonments,  Baxter  did 
a  marvelous  amount  of  labor.  His  works  number  one 
hundred  and  sixty-eight,  which,  it  is  said  would  make  a 
library  themselves,  of  sixty  volumes  of  five  hundred 
octavo  pages  each.  And  yet  when  reminded  on  liis  death- 
bed of  his  good  deeds,  he  replied :  "  I  M-as  but  a  pen  in 
God's  hand,  and  what  praise  is  due  to  a  pen."  In  trium- 
phant peace  and  joy,  he  ended  his  days  December  8,  1691. 

"I  have  pains"  said  he,  "there  is  no  arguing 
against  sense:  but  I  XvAve  peace,  I  have  peace."  When 
asked,  "How  are  you?"  his  answer  was,  ^'Almost  wellJ' 
This  thought  is  brought  out  in  a  verse  of  his  hymn: — 

"  My  knowledge  of  that  life  is  small, 
The'eye  of  faith  is  dim  ; 
But  'tis  enough  that  Christ  knows  all, 
And  I  shall  be  with  Him." 

While  contemplating  "  the  innumerable  company  "  in 
heaven  spoken  of  in  Heb.  xii.  22,  of  which  he  was  soon 
to  form  a  part  he  said,  "It  deserves  a  thousand — thou- 
sand thoughts.  Oh  how  comfortable  the  promise  that 
eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  pre- 
pared for  them  that  love  Him."  To  a  friend  he  said 
these,  his  last  words,   "The  Lord  teach  you  how  to  die." 


52 


Baxter^ s  hymn  illustrated. 


A  Hymn  Sung  before  an  Indian  Massacre. 

TIRRING  scenes  were  witnessed  in  the 
early  history  of  our  country. 

The  following  fact  given  in  the  Hallean 
Annals,  contains  an  exclamation  in  time 
of  danger,  that  Avas  almost  the  literal 
language  of  the  first  verse  of  Baxter's 
hymn : — 

"  Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care 
Whether  I  die  or  live." 

In  the  early  settlement  of  our  country 
about  the  year  1750,  there  were  frequent 
scenes  of  sudden,  death  through  the 
sudden  invasion  of  the  Indian  savage. 
Among  the  catechumens  of  the  Luth- 
eran pioneer  missionary,  the  Rev.  H. 
M.  Muhlenburg,  at  Kcw  Holland,  Pa., 
were  two  grown  daughters,  who,  after 
their  reception  into  the  church,  removed 
with  their  father  to  a  farm  near  the 
Blue  Mountains.  At  this  period  the  Indian  war  was 
raging,  rendering  life  very  insecure  in  those  forests. 

One  Friday  evening,  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  they  told 
their  father  that  they  felt  as  though  they  had  not  long 
to  live,  and  proposed  singing  the  following  appropriate 
German  hymn,  in  which  their  voices  all  united: — 

"  Wer  •n'eiss  wie  nahe  mir  mein  ende  ?  ' 

which  has  been  translated  into  English  thus: — 

"Who  knows  how  near  ray  life's  expended? 
Time  flies,  and  death  is  hasting  on  ; 
How  soon,  my  term  of  trial  ended, 

!i[ay  heave  my  last  expiring  groan  ! 
For  Jesus'  sake,  when  flesli  shall  fail, 
With  me,  0  God,  may  all  be  well ! 


c 


w 


Baxter^s  hymn  illustrated.  53 


"  My  many  sins  ! — oh,  vail  them  over 

\Yith  merits  of  thy  dying  Son  ! 
I  here  thy  richest  grace  discover, — 

flere  find  I  peace,  and  here  alone  : 
And  for  his  sake,  when  flesh  shall  fail, 
With  me,  0  God,  may  it  be  well ! 

"His  bleeding  wounds  give  me  assurance 

That  thy  free  mercy  will  abide : 
Here  strength  I  find  for  death's  endurance, 

And  hope  for  all  I  need  beside: 
For  Jesus'  sake,  when  flesh  shall  fail, 

With  me,  0  God,  may  it  be  well!" 

After  singing  they  united  in  prayer  and  retired  to 
rest.  Next  morning  while  the  father  was  in  his  fields 
looking  for  his  horses,  he  saw  two  Indians  s^viftly  ap- 
proaching with  deadly  weapons.  He  was  so  terrified 
that  he  knew  not  what  to  <lo,  and  seemed  unable  to  move. 

As  they  came  near,  he  cried  out,  "  0  Lord  Jesus,  to 
thee  Hive!  0  Lord  Jesus,  to  thee L  die. ^^  This  excla- 
mation seemed  to  have  paralized  the  Indians,  while  he  at 
once  was  inspired  with  new  strength,  with  wdiich  he  was 
enabled  to  outrun  the  Indians,  and  thus  escaped  to  a  dis- 
tant woods.  From  thence  he  hastened  to  some  neighbors 
to  procure  help,  so  as  to  defend  his  children  and  property. 
But  alas !  as  he  drew  near,  the  terrible  noise  and  crying 
of  old  and  young,  revealed  the  fact  that  the  Indians  were 
there  also,  doing  their  deadly  work.  Hastening  home- 
Avards  to  see  after  his  children,  he  saw  the  flames  of  his 
own  house  and  barn  rising  over  the  tree-tops,  and  heard  the 
terrible  bellowing  of  his  cattle  that  were  burning  up  alive. 

By  the  time  he  reached  his  former  home  it  was  in 
ashes;  his  eldest  daughter  was  also  consumed  that  nothing 
but  a  few  fragments  of  her  body  were  left;  the  second 
Avas  yet  alive,  but  scalped,  cut  and  gashed  from  head  to 
foot  with  the  tomahawk.  As  she  was  still  able  to  speak 
she  bade  her  father  stoop  down  and  give  her  a  parting 
kiss,  as  she  Avas  passing  away  to  the  home  aboA'e. 


1 


in 


54  Benjamin  Beddonie. 


Author  of   "  Did  Christ  o'er  Sinners  weep. " 

fHE  hymns  of  Kev.   Benjamin  Beddome  have  main- 
tained a  prominent  position  in  church  psahiiody  for 
nearly  a  century.     He  was  the  son  of  a  Baptist  min- 
ister, born  in  1717,  and  brought  to  Christ  in  1737. 

He  early  heeded  the  Bible  injunction  to  "acknowledge 
the  Lord  in  all  thy  ways,"  and  so  he  had  the  sweet  ex- 
perience of  finding  out  in  after  years  that  the  Lord  "shall 
direct  thy  paths,"  and  "give  thee  the  desires  of  thine 
heart."  This  is  very  evident  from  some  lines  which  he 
penned  in  his  early  Christian  life,  entitled,  "The  Wish," 
commencing, 

"  Lord,  in  my  soul  implant  thy  fear : 
Let  faitii,  and  hope,  and  love  be  there. 
Preserve  me  from  prevailing  vice 
When  Satan  tempts  or  lusts  entice." 

Seven  years  afterward  he  was  married  to  a  help-meet, 
that  Avas  truly  from  the  Lord,  as  an  answer  to  this  part 
of  his  prayer: — 

''  Let  the   companion  of  my  3'outh 
Be  one  of  innocence  and  trutli  : 
Let  modest  charms  adorn  lier  face; 
And  give  her  tliy  superior  grace  : 
By  heavenly  art  first  make  her  thine, 
Then  make  her  willing  to  be  mine. 

Such  an  one  he  found  when  a  pastor,  in  the  daughter  of 
one  of  his  deacons,  with  whom  he  was  happily  wedded 
for  thirty  four  years  of  his  life.  In  contemplating  the 
ministry,  he  further  expressed  his  heart's  wish  about  set- 
tlement:— 

"  My  dwelling  place  let  Bourton  be 
And  let  me  live,  and  live  to  thee." 
And  so  it  proved  to  be,  and  here  he  also  fully  realized 

"  Of  friendship  's  sweet  may  I  partake, 
Nor  be  forsaken,  or  forsake. 
Let  moderate  plenty  crown  my  board, 
And  God  for  all  be  still  adored. 


Beddome  continued.  55 


At  Bourtou  the  people  became  so  attached  to  him  and 
lie  to  them,  tliat  he  spent  his  entire  ministerial  life  of 
fifty-two  years  among  them.  At  one  time  a  church  in 
London  was  so  bent  on  endeavoring  to  get  him  to  l)ecome 
their  pastor  that  they  sent  "call  after  call,"  and  when 
this  failed,  delegated  one  of  their  number  to  press  the 
suit.  While  on  this  visit,  a  })Oor  man  discovered  his 
mission  and  having  the  visitor's  horse  in  charge,  became 
so  excited  that  when  he  brought  the  horse  to  Mr.  Bed- 
dome's  door,  he  exclaimed  in  the  presence  of  the  Londoner, 
"Kobbers  of  churches  are  the  worst  of  robbers,"  and  at 
once  he  set  the  horse  free  to  take  his  own  course. 

Beddome  sent,  as  his  final  answer,  "I  would  rather 
honor  God  in  a  station,  even  much  inferior  to  that  in 
which  lis  has  placed  me,  than  intrude  myself  into  a  higher 
without  his  direction." 

His  earnest  ministry  won  many  trophies  for  his  INIaster, 
and  so  anxious  was  he  to  die  with  his  harness  on  that 
when  unable  through  age  and  infirmites  to  walk,  his  at- 
tached people  carried  him  to  church,  and  listened  to  his 
sermons  while  he  preached  sitting.  Even  one  hour  be- 
fore his  death  his  busy  pen  was  still  at  work  composing 
a  hymn,  when  he  was  suddenly  caught  up  to  the  skies  in 
the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  departure  took 
place,  September  3,  1795.  A  volume  of  his  hymns  was 
issued  in  1818.  Of  his  many  hymns  that  are  still  in 
frequent  use  and  much  beloved,  we  may  mention  the 
following,  commencing, 

"  Come,  Holy  Spirit,   come." 

"  And  must  I  part  with  all  I  have," 

''  Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  chief  delight," 

"If Christ  is  mine,  then  all  is  mine," 

*'  Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  wee^i  ?  " 

"Witness,  ye  men  and  angels !  now," 

"  Let  party  names  no  more." 


56  St.  Bernard. 


C 


A  Hymn  Seven  Hundred  Years  Old. 

tERNARD,  the  celebrated  Abbot  of  Clair  Yaux, 
wrote  a  Latin  hymn  to  "the  sweet  memory  of  Jesus," 
which  has  been,  and  still  is  highly  prized  by  those 
who  love  that  precious  name.     Translated  by  E.  Cas- 
well the  first  verse  reads, — 

"Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  Thee, 
Witla  sweetness  fills  my  breast ; 
But  sweeter  far  Thy  face  to  see, 
And  in  Thy  glory  rest.  " 

He  was  born  in  Burgundy,  A.  D.  1091,  and  was 
consecrated  to  God  from  the  first,  by  Aletta,  his  devot- 
edly pious  mother,  who  coidd  say  with  Hannah,  "  for 
this  child  I  prayed."  Her  death  chamber  was  his 
spiritual  birth-place.     She  died   responding  to  a  chant. 

He  was  selected  with  twelve  others  to  build  a  mon- 
astery, which  they  accomplished  in  a  "  pathless  forest 
haunted  with  robbers."  There  they  toiled  with  songs 
of  praise  till  at  length  it  became  Clair  Vaux  "the  bright 
valley." 

By  his  learning,  eloquence,  and  piety,  he  obtained 
great  influence.  Kings  and  Popes  consulted  him,  and 
were  subject  to  him.  Peter  the  Venerable  said  he  "had 
rather  pass  his  life  with  Bernard  than  enjoy  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  world."  Luther  held  him  in  high  esteem, 
and  said  he  was  "  the  best  monk  that  ever  lived." 

Among  liis  other  sacred  lyrics  thait  are  still  held  in 
high  estimation,  -we  may  mention, — ■ 

"Hail,  thou  Head!  so  bruised  and  wounded  " 

The  missionary  Schwartz  found  great  comfort  in  his 
dying  hours  by  hearing  the  native  Christians  in  India 
singing  this  hymn  in  their  own  Tamil  language.  After 
he  had  died,  as  was  supposed,  he  was  roused  to  life  again 


Bernard  continued.  57 


by  this  favorite  liyran,  and  his  resuscitation  was  made 
known  to  them  by  his  joining  with  them  in  the  song. 

Bernard  died  in  1153,  beino;  sixtv-two  rears  of  ag-e. 

Like  Andrew,  he  at  "first  findeth  his  own  brother" 
and  "brought  him  to  Jesus."  His  father  as  well  as 
his  five  brothers  were  among  his  first  followers  that  he 
led  in  the  narrow  way. 

Of  his  brother  Gerard's  death,  he  touchingly  says, 
"Who  could  ever  have  loved   me  as  he  did?     He  was 

a  brother  by  blood,   but  far  more  by  religion 

God  grant,  Girard,  I  may  not  have  lost  thee,  but  that 
thou  hast  preceded  me;  for  of  a  surety  thou  hast  joined 
those  whom  in  thy  last  night  below  thou  didst  invite  to 
praise  God;  when  suddenly  to  the  great  surprise  of  all, 
thou,  with  a  serene  countenance  and  a  cheerful  voice, 
didst  commence  chanting,  '  Praise  ye  the  Lord,  from  the 
heaven;  praise  Him,   all  ye  angels" 

Bernard  has  been  designated  the  honeyed  teacher,  and 
his  WTitings  a  stream  from  Paradise.  His  heart  seemed 
to  overflow  with  love  to  Christ,  of  which  in  the  first 
mentioned  hymn,  he  says, — 

"  Ah  !  this 

Nor  tongue  nor  pen  can  show: 
The  love  of  Jesus  what  it  is, 

None  bat  liis  loved  ones  know." 

The  thoughts  expressed  by  Bernard  in  this  verse,  were 
also  forcibly  brought  out  in  a  striking  figure  by  one 
partially  insane  at  Cirencester,  in  1779. 

•'  Could  we  with  ink  the  ocean  fill, 

Were  the  whole  earth  of  parchment  made, 
"Were  every  single  stick  a  quill. 

Were  every  man  a  scribe  by  trade  ; 
To  write  the  love  of  God  alone. 

Would  drain  the  ocean  dry ; 
Nor  would  the  scroll  contain  the  wholev 

Though  stretched  from  skj'  to  sky.  "/ 


58 


Jolin  Bcr ridge  and  his  hymns. 


Author  of  "0  happy  saints,  who  dwell  in  light." 

fjROMINENT  among  the  workers  that  brouglit  about 
the  great  revival  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  the 
liev.  John  Berridge.  He  is  described  as  "  the  salt 
of  the  church  of  EngUmd,  and  an  instrument  in  God's 
hand  of  working  revivals  of  religion  within  her  ])ale, 
worthy  of  record  with  those  that  his  compeers,  White- 
Held  and  Wesley,  wrought  without  her." 

At  nineteen  he  entered  college  at  Cambridge,  and  be- 
came quite  celebrated  for  his  attainments,  wit  and  humor. 
Though  awakened  in  early  life  to  a  sense  of  his  sinfulness, 
he  entered  the  work  of  the  ministry,  without  knowing 
the  way  of  salvation. 

As  six  years  passed  around  in  liis  first  charge  at  Staple- 
ford,  England,  without  any  souls  being  brought  to  Christ, 
he  says,  "God  would  have  shown  me,  that  /was  wrong 
by  not  owning  my  ministry,  but  I  ])aid  no  regard  to  this 
for  a  long  time,  imputing  my  want  of  success  to  the 
naughty  hearts  of  my  hearers,  and  not  to  my  own  naughty 
doctrine;  that  we  are  to  be  justified  partly  by  our  taitli 
and  partly  by  our  works." 

In  1755  he  removed  to  Everton,  where  there  A^■as  a 
similar  want  of  success.  Until,  as  he  says,  "I  began  to 
be  discoiu'aged  and  now  some  secret  misgivings  arose  iu 
my  mind  that  I  was  not  right  myself.  Those  misgivings 
grew  stronger,  and  at  last  very  ])ainful.  Being  then  un- 
der great  doubts,  I  cried  unto  the  Lord  very  earnestly. 
The  constant  language  of  my  heart  was  this:  'Lord,  if 
I  am  right,  keep  me  so;  if  I  am  not  right,  make  me  so. 
Lead  me  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.' 
After  about  ten  days'  crying  unto  the  Lord,  he  was 
])lcased  to  return  an  answer  to  my  prayers,  and  in  the 
following  wonderful  manner.  As  I  was  sitting  in  my 
house  one  morning,  and  musing  upon  a  text  of  Scripture 


r 


w 


JOHN  BEllRIDGE. 


Berrldge  continued. 


61 


"  No  wonder  sinners  weary  grow 
Of  praj-ing  to  an  unknown  God, 
Such  heartless  prayer  is  all  dumb  show, 
And  makes  them  listless,  yawn,  and  nod." 

His  warm  heart  now  overflowed  with  emotion  for 
perishing  sinners.  The  church  was  awakened  from  its 
long  slee]>;  some  of  his  parishioners  became  angry;  some 
opened  their  eyes  with  astonishment;  while  one  and 
another  began  to  come  secretly,  and  revealing  a  broken 
heart,  would  tell  him  their  lost  condition. 


these  words  were  darted  into  my  mind  with  wonderful 
power,  and  seemed  indeed  like  a  voice  from  heaven, 
"Cease  from  thy  M-orks. "  Before  I  heard  these  words 
my  mind  was  in  a  very  unusual  calm;  but  as  soon  as  I 
heard  them  my  soul  was  in  a  tempest  directly  ,  and  the 
iears  flowed  from  my  eyes,  like  a  torrent.  The  scales 
fell  from  my  eyes  immediately,  and  I  now  saw  the  rock 
I  had  been  splitting  on  for  nearly  thirty  years.  Do  you 
ask  what  this  rock  was?  Some  secret  reliance  on  my 
own  works  for  salvation.  " 

Afcer  his  conversion,  he  says  in  relation  to  his  preach- 
ing, '•'  I  dealt  with  my  hearers  in  a  very  different  man- 
ner from  what  I  used  to."  The  effect  was  manifest  at 
once.     Soon  one  with  a  broken  heart  called  upon  him. 

"  Why,  what   is  the  matter,  Sarah?"  he  asked. 

"Matter!  I  dont  know  what's  the  matter.  Those  new 
sermons.  I  find  we  are  all  to  be  lost  now.  1  can 
neither  eat,  drink,  nor  sleep.  I  don't  know  what's  to 
become  of  me." 

The  same  week  came  two  or  three  more  on  a  like 
errand.  This  sank  him  into  the  dust  of  self-abasement, 
to  see  what  a  blind  leader  of  the  blind  he  liad  been  before. 
Immediately  he  burnt  all  his  old  sermons,  and  with  tears 
of  joy  witnessed  their  destruction.-  The  secret  of  his 
2)revious  failures  he  expresses  on  thiswise: — 


G2  Berridge  continued. 


c 


Soon  others  came  with  the  same  story.  His  church 
became  crowded.  It  is  said:  "The  windows  being  filled 
within  and  without,  and  even  the  outside  of  the 
pulpit  to  the  very  top,  so  that  Mr.  Berridge  seemed 
almost  stifled."  Within  a  year  as  many  as  a  thousand 
persons  visited  him,  inquiring  the  way  of  life. 

He  now  began  to  visit  and  stir  up  the  neighboring 
towns  and  vill ages.  Being  threatened  with  i mprison ment, 
if  he  kept  on  preaching  out  of  his  parish,  he  replied 
that  he  would  rather  go  to  jail  "with  a  good  conscience, 
than  be  at  liberty  without  one;  adding  there  is  one  canon, 
my  lord,  which  I  dare  not  disobey,  and  that  says,  *Go, 
preach  my  gospel  to  every  creature." 

Aschurclies  could  not  always  contain  the  great  multi- 
tudes that  flocked  to  hear  him,  he  would  resort  to  the 
open  flelds,  as  did  his  eloquent  co-laborers,  Whitefield 
and  Wesley.  The  effect  that  often  followed  his  preach- 
ing is  described  as  truly  remarkable. 

He  had  a  tall  and  commanding  figure,  deep  voice, 
a  bold  and  impressive  manner  of  speech,  and  a  vivid 
fancy,  that  would  often  play  around  his  utterances,  as 
lightning  about  a  cloud.  Ten  to  fifteen  thousand  persons 
would  often  hang  with  breathless  attention  U])on  his 
weighty  words  as  he  ])ortrayed  the  interests  of  time  and 
eternity.  His  eccentricity  no  doubt  helped  to  swell  the 
number  of  liis  hearers.  It  is  said  that  sometimes  the 
curl  of  his  lips  and  "the  very  point  of  his  peaked  nose" 
would  seem  to  add  to  the  effectiveness  of  his  sjjicy  sayings. 
But  his  quaint  speech  was  always  used  as  the  diamond 
point  on  the  arrow  of  truth,  that  helped  to  make  it  pierce 
far  into  the  citadel  of  the  heart.  The  slain  of  the  Lord 
would  be  many  after  his  use  of  the  sword  of  the  Spirit. 
Strong  men  would  sink  to  the  earth  in  great  agony,  and 
in  a  single  year  of  "campaigning"  as  many  as  four 
thousand  would  thus  become  "pricked  in  heart." 


Berrldge^s  hymns.  63 


All  amusing  story  is  told  of  Berridge  M'hile  on  a  visit 
in  the  North  of  England.  Stopping  at  a  village  where 
he  must  needs  stay  over  the  Sabbath,  he  requested  the 
proprietor  of  the  inn  to  let  the  "parson  of  the  parish" 
know  that  there  was  a  clergyman  stopping  with  him  who 
would  gladly  assist  at  the  service  on  the  morrow. 

In  reply  to  this  statement  the  cautious  shepherd  re- 
marked to  the  landlord,  "  We  must  be  careful,  for  you 
know  there  are  many  of  those  Meandering  Methodist 
preachers  about.  What  sort  of  man  is  he?"  "Oh,  it 
is  all  right  sir,"  was  the  answer,  "just  see  his  nose,  sir, 
that  will  tell  you  he  is  no  Methodist."  "  Well,  ask  him 
to  call  on  me  in  the  morning,"  said  the  rector,  "and  I 
shall  judge  for  myself."  At  the  morning  call  it  is  said, 
"the  waggish  and  somewhat  rubecund  nose"  disarmed 
prejudices  and  opened  the  way  to  the  pulpit,  where  he 
delivered  a  memorable  discourse. 

"  And  fools, who  came  to  scoT,  remained  to  praj." 
In  1785  he  issued  his  "Sion's  Songs,  or  Hymns  com- 
posed for  the  use  of  them  that  love  and  follow  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,"  of  which  he  says  in  the  }H-eface; 
"Many  years  ago,  these  hymns  were  composed  in  a  six 
months'  illness,  and  have  since  lain  neglected  by  me, 
often  threatened  with  fire,  but  have  escaped  that  martyr- 
dom." Of  the  singing  in  his  day,  he  says,  "  It  has  become 
a  vulgar  business  in  our  cliurches.  This  tax  of  praise  is 
collected,  chiefly  from  an  organ,  or  a  clerk,  or  some  bawl- 
ing voice  in  a  singing  loft.  The  congregation  may  listen 
if  they  please,  or  talk  in  whispers,  or  take  a  quiet  nap." 
His  hymns  number  three  hundred  and  forty-two. 
We  give  five  of  the  six  verses  of  the  one  on  "pleasures 
for  evermore."  This  is  thought  to  be  his  best,  and  is 
found  in  nearly  all  the  church  hymn-books  of  the 
present  day  :  — 


64  Berridge's  hymns  continued. 


"  0  happy  saints,  who  dwell  in  light 
And  walk  with  Jesus  clothed  in  white, 
Safe  landed  on  that  peaceful  shore 
Where  pilgrims  meet  to  part  no  more. 

"Released  from  sin  and  toil  and  grief, 
Death  was  their  gate  to  endless  life  : 
An  opened  cage  to  let  them  fly 
And  build  their  happy  nests  on  high. 

"And  now  they  range  the  heavenly  plains, 
And  sing  their  hymns  in  melting  strains; 
And  now  their  souls  l)egin  to  prove 
The  heights  and  depths  of  Jesus  '  love." 

"  He  cheers  them  with  eternal  smile  j 
They  sing  hosannas  all  the  while  ; 
Or,  overwhelmed  with  rapture  sweet, 
Sink  down  adoring  at  his  feet. 

"Ah,  Lord !  with  tardy  steps  I  creep. 
And  sometimes  sing  and  sometimes  weep  ; 
Yet  strip  me  of  this   house  of  clay. 
And  I  ^111  sing  as  loud  as  they." 

A^  a  specimen  of  some  quaint  verses  that  spice  his 
collection,  we  give  the  following: — 

*'  But  when  thy  simple  sheep 
For  form  and  shadows  fight, 
I  sit  me  down  and  Aveep 
To  see  their  shallow  wit. 
Who  leave  their  bread  to  gnaw  tlie  stones, 
And  fondly  break  their  teeth  \^  ith  bones. 

Hymn  number  seven  commences  thus : — 

"V/ith  solemn  weekly  state 

The  worldling  treads  thy  court 
Content  to  see  thy  gate, 

And  such  as  thert  resort, 
But,  ah,  what  is  the  house  tQ  me, 
Unless  the  master  I  can  see. 

Another  contrasts  the  law  and  grace  on  this  wise: — 

"R'ln,  John,  and  work,  the  law  commands, 
Yet  finds  me  neither  feet  nor  hands  ; 
But  sweeter  news  the  gospel  brings. 
It  bids  me  fly,  and  lends  me  Avings. 


;ii 


Berriclge's  hymn  continued. 


65 


Although  Berridge  was  never  married,  he  has  furnished 
a  good  marriage  hymn,  that  is  about  the  only  one  on 
that  subject  in  most  hymn-books.     It  commences, 

"Since  Jesus  freely  did  appear 
To  grace  a  marriage  feast, 
Dear  Lord,  we  ask  thy  presence  here, 
To  make  a  wedding  guest. " 

His  purse  was  as  open  as  his  heart,  so  that  during  his 
lifetime  he  gave  away  a  fortune  and  all  his  patrimony. 

For  four  and  twenty  years  he  preached  on  an  average 
ten  or  twelve  sermons  a  week,  and  travelled  a  hundred 
miles.  In  a  characteristic  epitaph  he  thus  epitomizes  the 
events  of  his  life.  This,  in  accordance  with  iiis  wish,  was 
placed  on  his  tomb-stone  after  death,  with  the  date 
of  the  last  line  added: — 

"Here  lie  the  earthly  remains  of  John  Berridge,  late 
Vicar  of  Everton,  and  an  itinerant  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  loved  his  Master  and  his  work,  and  after 
running  his  errands  many  years,  was  called  up  to  wait 
on  him  above. 

"Reader,  art  thou  born  again? 

"No  salvation  without  a  new  birth. 

"I  was  born  in  sin,  February,  1716. 

"Remained  ignorant  of  my  fallen  state  till  1730. 

"Lived  proudly  on  faith  and  works  for  salvation  till 
1751. 

"Admitted  to  Everton  vicarage,  1755. 

"Fled  to  Jesus  alone  for  refuge,  1756. 

"Fell  asleep  in  Christ  Jesus,  January  22,  1793.  " 

He  was  in  his  seventy-sixth  year  wiien  the  summons 
of  death  suddenly  arrived.  A  clergyman  remarked, 
"Jesus  will  soon  call  you  up  higher."  He  replied,  " Av, 
ay,  ay,  higher,  higher,  higher."  Once  he  exclaimed, 
"Yes,  and  my  childien,  too,  will  shout  and  sing,  ^ Here 
comes  oui' father ! '" 


^W 


6Q  Hor alius  Bonar. 


Bonar  and  his  Hymns. 

rjijllEIEN  the  feet  of  the  psahiiist  were  taken  "out  of  an 
horrible  pit  and  the  miry  clay/'  he  says  that  there 
was  also  "put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise 
to  our  God."  After  the  escape  from  Egyptian  bondage, 
and  from  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  what  was  more  nat- 
ural to  God's  Israel  than  the  spontaneous  outburst  of 
praise  upon  the  banks  of  deliverance. 

How  often  the  redeemed  soul,  while  surveying  the 
great  salvation,  has  found  the  language  of  Bonar 's  three 
well-known  hymns  exactly  suited  to  tell  the  story. 
While  sweetly  led  through  "green  pastiu'cs"  how  easy 
to  sing  along  the  banks  of  "the  still  waters"  the  hymn 
commencing, 

"  I  was  a  wandering  sheep, 
^  I  did  not  love  the  fold ; 

I  did  not  love  my  Shepherd's  voice, 
I  would  not  be  controlled.'" 

Or  when  nestled  near  the  loving  heart  of  Jesus,  to  recount 

his  wondrous  love  in  the  hymn : — 

"I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say, — 
'  Come  unto  me  and  rest; 
Lay  down,  thou  weary  one  !  lay  down 
Thy  head  upon  my  breast.' 

"  I  came  to  Jesus  as  I  was, 
Weary,  and  worn,  and  sad  ; 
I  found  in  him  a  resting-plaoe 

And  he  has  made  me  glad."  ^ 

Even  the  smallest  babe  in  Christ  can  tell  the  plan  of 

redemption  in  the  simple  verse  that  makes  up  the  hymn 

commencing, 

"  I  lay  my  sins  on  Jesus, 

The  spotless  Lamb  of  God." 

Our  readers  will  surely   need  no  invitation  to  gaze 
upon  the  pleasant  features  of  Bonar's  likeness  that  ac- 


C 


HORATIUS  BONAR. 


Bonars  hymn  continued.  69 


company  these  remarks,  and  see  in  them  tluit  goodness 
of  heart  that  is  indelibly  stamped  upon  all  that  he  has 
written. 

The  Rev.  Horatius  Bonar  D,  D.  was  born  in  Edin- 
burgh Scotland  in  1808.  He  was  set  apart  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry  at  Kelso,  in  1837,  and  has  continued  his 
pastoral  work  at  Edinburgh,  since  1867.  In  1843  he 
united  with  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland. 

His  pen  has  been  not  only  busy  and  fruitful,  but  far- 
reaehins  in  its  influence.   / 

His  "Night  of  Weeping;  or  Words  for  the  Suffering 
Family  of  God,"  reached  its  forty-fifth  thousand  already 
in  1853.  A  sequel,  "The  Morning  of  Joy,"  was  issued 
in  1850.  His  precious  work  called  "The  Blood  of 
Christ,"  has  also  gained  a  world-wide  reputation.  His 
hymns  and  poems  issued  in  1857,  entitled  "Hymns  of 
Faith  and  Hope,"  reached  an  eighth  edition  in  1862,  and 
were  followed  by  a  second  series  in  1861,  and  a  third  in 
1866.     A  second  series  was  published  in  1861. 

His  earnest  life  has  been  in  keeping  with  tlie  lieart- 
wish  so  well  expressed  in  his  lines  entitled,  "Use  Me:" — 

"Make  use  of  me  mj-  Godl 
Let  me  not  be  forgot; 
A  broken  vessel  cast  aside, 
One  whom  thou  needest  not. 

*'  I  am  thy  creature  Lord ; 

And  made  by  hands  divine; 

And  I  am  part,  however  mean, 

Of  this  great  world  of  thine. 

"Thou  usest  all  thy  works. 

The  weakest  things  that  be; 
Each  has  a  service  of  its  own 
For  all  things  wait  on  thee. 

"Thou  usest  the  high  stars, 
The  tiny  drops  of  dew, 
The  giant  peak  and  little  hill; — 
My  God,  Oh  use  me  too. " 


c 


72  Bonars  hymn. 


f 

4 


"I  was  a  Wandering  Sheep." 

tURING  a  revival  in  a  female  seminary  in  Massa- 
cliusetts,  many  of  the  pupils  had  shown  the  natural 
"  enmity"  of  the  "carnal  mind'"  to  spiritual  things, 

Helen  B was  among  those  who  noticed  the  Spirit's 

work  only  by  a  curling  lip  and  a  scornful  laugh. 

It  seemed  in  vain  to  talk  with  her,  or  seek  to  induce 
her  to  attend  a  prayer' meeting.  Christians  could  do 
nothing  more  than  to  pray  for  her. 

One  evening,  however,  as  a  praying  band  had  gather- 
ed, the  door  opened,  and  Helen  B entered.  Her  eyes 

were  downcast,  and  her  llice  was  calm  and  very  pale. 
There  was  something  in  her  look  which  told  of  an  inward 
struggle.  She  took  her  seat  silently,  and  the  exercises  of 
the  meeting  proceeded.  A  few  lines  were  sung,  two  or 
three  prayers  offered,  and  then  as  was  their  custom,  each 
repeated  a  few  verses  of  some  favorite  hymn.  One  follow- 
ed another  in  succession,  until  it  came  to  the  turn 
of  the  new-comer.  There  w^as  a  pause,  and  a  perfect 
silence,  and  then,  without  lifting  her  eyes  from  the  floor, 
she  commenced, 

"I  Teas  a  Tvandering  sheep, 
I  did  not  love  the  fold. " 

Her  voice  was  low,  but  distinct,  and  every  w^ord,  as 
she  uttered  it,  thrilled  the  hearts  of  the  listeners.  She  re- 
peated one  stanza  after  another  of  that  beautiful  hymn  of 
Bonar,  and  not  an  eye  save  her  owm  was  dry,  as,  with 
sweet  emphasis,  she  pronounced  the  last  lines  ; 

"No  more  a  wayward  child, 
1  seek  no  more  to  roan?  ; 
I  love  my  heavenly'  Father's  voice — 
I  love,  I  love  his  home." 

That  single  hymn  told  all.  The  wandering  sheep,  the 
proud  and  w^ayward  child  had  returned. 


Bonar^s  hymn — /  lay  my  sins  on  Jcsiis.  73 

Comfort  Sung  to  a  Weary  Teacher. 

fN  infant  school  teacher  thus  describes  her  experience : 
"I  was  not  very  well,  and  all  my  nerves  seemed 
to  be  in  a  quiver.  It  was  washing-day,  with  extra  cares 
and  labors.  There  was  company  in  the  house  which 
must  be  entertained.  There  was  fruit  to  be  attended  to — 
a  duty  that  cannot  be  put  off  a  single  day.  In  fact  there 
seemed  to  be  everything  to  do,  and  the  most  of  it  must 
be  done  by  my  own  tired  hands.     My  head  ached,  too. 

'*  I  went  into  the  garden  for  a  breath  of  fresh  air,  and 
behold,  the  long  rains  had  brought  out  the  weeds  in  un- 
precedented luxuriance.  It  would  never  do  to  leave 
those  weeds.  I  went  to  work  with  a  will — with  more 
will  than  strength,  indeed — and  worked  till  I  was  utterly 
exhausted.  Then  I  went  into  the  house  to  resume  my 
labors  there,  but  I  was  weary  and  worn,  and  the  com- 
])laining  thought  uppermost  in  my  mind  was,  'Must  it 
be  so  always?     Can  I  never,  anywhere,  find  rest?' 

"  As  if  in  answer  to  my  question,  a  little  voice,  clear 
and  sweet,  came  from  under  the  clustering  vines  in  the 
next  yard.  It  was  the  voice  of  one  of  my  own  little 
scholars,  and  she  was  singing  to  herself,  one  line  of  a 
favorite  song  she  had  learned  in  ray  class : — 

•  I  lay  my  head  on  Jesus — I  lay  my  head  on  Jesus. ' 
She  repeated  it  over  and  over  again.     But  it  was  enough. 

"  When  they  were  learning  that  song,  I  had  told  them 
they  should  go  to  Jesus  whenever  they  were  tired  or  sick 
or  sorry,  and  they  should  lean  their  heads  on  him,  and 
there  they  would  find  rest  and  peace. 

"  It  all  came  back  to  me.  I  tried  then  and  there, 
weary  and  depressed  j\s  I  was,  to  "lean  my  head  on 
Jesus. "  I  seemed  to  feel  on  my  hot  forehead  the  touch 
of  his  own  hand  in  benediction,  and  the  promised  rest 
entered  into  my  spirit." 


74  Origin  of  3Irs.  P.  II.  Brown's  hymn. 


^  liONG    a    mountain    stream, 
'^  skirted  with  trees  and  alders,    ^■ 

near  the  village  of  Ellington, 
Connecticut.      there  was  a  well 
trodden  foot  path,  that  led  from 
a  cottage  to  a  place  of  praj-er. 

At  the  close  of  the  day,  a  mother  was  wont  to  leave 
the  cares  of  her  family,  and,  in  the  quiet  of  this  secluded 
spot,  to  hold  sweet  communion  with  God. 

One  summer  evening  she  was  criticised  by  a  neighbor 
for  the  seeming  neglect  of  her  family,  and  for  this  habit 
of  stealing  thus  "a  while  away." 

When  she  returned  home  her  heart  was  much  pained 
at  what  had  been  said.  So  she  at  once  took  her  pen  and 
wrote  an  answer  to  the  criticism.  She  headed  it,  "An 
apology  for  my  twilight  rambles  addressed  to  a  Lady." 

This  mother  was  Mrs.  Phoebe  H.  Brown. 

In  1824  she  gave  Dr.  Nettleton  permission  to  issue  it 
in  his  "Village  Hymns."  The  first  verses  of  the  orig- 
inal hymn  commenced  thus : — 

"Yes,  when  the  toilsome  day  is  gone, 
And  night  with  banners  gray 
Steals  silently  the  glade  along, 
In  twilight's  soft  arrav — 


c= 


"I  love  to  steal  awhile  away 
From  little  ones  and  care, 
And  spend  the  hours  of  setting  day 
In  gratitude  and  prayer.  " 


w 


PHCKBE  H.  BROWN. 


3Irs.  Broicn's  hymn  continued.  11 


One  of  the  "little  ones"  for  whom  she  was  thus  accus- 
tomed to  pray  is  now  the  Rev  Samuel  R.  Brown.  D.  D. 
who  has  been  a  most  efficient  missionary  in  Japan  since 
1859.  What  an  example  to  praying  mothers,  and  what 
an  apt  illustration  of  God's  promises  showing  that  those 
who  resort  to  "  the  secret  place  of  the  most  high  shall 
abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty" — that  when 
we  pray  to  him     in  secret  he  shall  reward  us  openly. 

When  it  is  known  how  true  the  language  of  this  hymn 
was,  as  the  heart  utterance  of  its  author  ,  and  how  trutli- 
fully  it  expresses  the  inward  emotion  of  every  prayerful 
soul,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  finds  a  place  in  nearly  all 
tlie  standard  hymn-books  of  Christendom. 

As  long  as  Christians  are  like  their  Master,  of  whom 
it  is  said;  '^  Rising  up  a  great  while  before  day  he  went 
out,  and  departed  into  a  solitary  place  and  prayed,"  they 
will  also  love  to  sing : —  ^ 

"  I  love  to  steal  awhile  away  V 

From  every  cumbering  care, 
And  spend  the  hours  of  setting  dry 
In  humble,  grateful  prayer. 

"  I  love  in  solitude  to  shed 

The  penitential  tear, 
And  all  his  promises  to  plead, 

Wliere  none  but  God  can  hear. 

*' I  love  to  think  on  mercies  past, 
And  future  good  implore, 
And  all  my  cares  and  sorrows  cast 
On  Him  whom  I  adore. 

"  I  love  by  faith  to  take  a  view 
Of  brighter  scenes  in  heaven  ; 
The  prospect  doth  my  strength  renc^V, 
While  here  by  tempest  driven. 

"Thus  when  life's  toilsome  day  is  o'er, 
May  its  departing  ray 
Be  calm  as  this  impressive  hour 
And  lead  to  endless  day  " 


=8^ 


r 


78  Phcebe  H.  Broicm. 


The  tune  called  "Monson"  was  composed  for  this 
liymn  by  her  son,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  who  is  "a  lover 
of  song  and  an  admirable  singer."  William  B.  Brad- 
bury also  wrote  a  tune  expressly  for  this  hymn,  and 
named  it  "Brown,"  as  a  compliment  to  its  gifted  author- 
ess."    One  of  the  omitted  verses  of  her  hymn  reads; — 

"  I  love  to  meditate  on  death, 

When  will  its  summons  come, 
With  gentle  power  to  steal  my  breath. 
And  waft  an  exile  home  ?  " 

We  are  indebted  to  Rev.  Charles  Hammond  for  the 
following  particulars.  He  is  in  possession  of  her  auto- 
biography, a  manuscript  volume  of  four  hundred  and 
twelve  pages  quarto,  and  a  volume  of  her  poems,  nearly 
as  large,  besides  many  unpublished  papers  of  equal  value. 

]\Irs.  Brown  was  the  wife  of  Timothy  H.  Brown  of 
Monson,  Mass.  She  was  born  at  Canaan,  N.  Y.,  May 
1st,  1783.  Her  father,  George  Hinsdale,  having  died 
suddenly  of  small-pox  when  she  was  but  ten  months  old, 
she  was  placed  in  the  care  of  her  grandmother. 

In  her  autobiography  written  in  her  old  age,  Mrs 
Brown  pavs  a  tribute  to  the  deathless  impressions  of  her 
grandmother's  instructions,  in  which  she  says,  "the  bright 
and  sunny  period  of  my  first  nine  years  has  never  been 
forgotten,  nor  can  be  undervalued  while  memory  and 
reason  retain  their  empire. "  Being  placed  in  other  hands 
from  the  age  of  nine  until  eighteen  her  life  was  one 
of  bondage,  hardly  less  severe  and  hopeless  than  that  of 
slavery  itself.  She  lived  in  poverty,  never  went  to  school 
a  day,  and  for  years  did  not  get  to  church,  and  was  com- 
pelled through  all  the  plastic  period  of  youth  to  spend 
her  time  in  unrequited  toil,  and  in  the  most  menial 
service.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  she  "left  the  abode  of  her 
sorrows  and  managed  to  go  to  school,  where,  with  little 
children,  she   learned  to   write  for  the  first  time,  and  to 


r 


Origin  of  "  0  Lord!  thy  icorh  revive  J'  79 


sew,  and  some  of  the  primary  studies  in  a  common-school 
education. 

Returning  to  Canaan,  the  residence  of  her  childhood, 
she  Avas  most  kindly  cared  for  by  the  Whiting  family, 
and  with  them  shared  in  the  results  of  a  revival,  which, 
near  the  beginning  of  the  century,  visited  that  region. 
No  sooner  had  she  learned  to  write  with  the  pen  mechan- 
ically, than  she  began  to  write  as  the  composer  of  verses, 
and  essays  in  prose.  Her  pen  was  never  hiid  aside  until 
extreme  age  and  disease  prevented  its  further  use.   J 

Next  to  her  "twilight  hymn"  in  popularity  yras  the 
one  of  which  she  left  the  following  record  :  "Prayer  for 
a  Revival."  This  hymn  was  written  from  the  impulse 
ofa  full  heart,  incidentally  shown  to  a  friend,  that  friend 
begged  a  copy  for  his  own  private  use,  but  it  soon  found 
its  way  to  the  public  in  "The  Spiritual  Songs."  The 
hymn  is  familiar  to  all  commencing  : — 

"  0  Lord  !  thy  work  revive 
In  Zion's  gloomy  hour, 
And  let  our  dying  graces  live 
By  thy  restoring  power." 

We  need  not  wonder  that  to  nfull  heart,  overflowing 
in  such  earnest  cries,  a  speedy  answer  should  be  witnessed. 
For  this  verily  followed  the  same  year  in  the  neigh- 
borhood from  which  her  earnest  petition  ascended  to 
the  skies. 

The  children  growing  uj)  under  the  influence  of  so 
many  prayers,  did  not  disappoint  a  mother's  wishes  for 
positions  of  usefulness.  The  eldest  daughter,  Julia,  was 
married  to  the  Rev.  Daniel  Lord;  the  second  to  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Winn;  the  remaining  daughter,  Hannah, 
first  to  Mr.  Lord  of  Connecticut,  and  after  his  death  to 
Deacon  Elijah  Smith,  now  of  Illinois,  All  her  children 
are  numbered  with  the  departed,  except  the  son  in  Japan. 

Not  only  at  the  close,  but  also  at  the  dawn  of  dav  did 


^•i 


80  Mrs.  Brown  continued. 


slie  love  to  "steal  a  while  away."  Even  when  bending 
under  the  weight  of  old  age,  she  wrote  to  a  friend,  saying, 
"  I  have  risen  before  the  light,  that  I  may  have  a  quiet 
hour  for  communion  with  my  God  and  Saviour."  In 
1819,  she  wrote  the  following  Morning  Hymn  for  a  sun- 
rise prayer  meeting,  held  in  Monson,  during  a  season  of 
revival : — 

"  How  sweet  the  melting  lay, 
Which  breaks  upon  the  ear, 
When  at  the  hour  of  rising  day, 
Christians  unite  in  prayer. 
"  The  breezes  waft  their  cries 
Up  to  Jehovah's  throne, 
He  listens  to  their  heaving  sighs 
And  sends  his  blessings  down. 
"  So  Jesus  rose  to  praj' 

Before  the  morning  liglit, 
Once  on  the  chilling  mount  did  stay 
To  wrestle  all  the  night. 
"Glory  to  God  on  high, 

Who  sends  his  Spirit  down 
To  rescue  souls  condemned  to  die, 
And  make  his  people  one." 

By  special  request,  she  added  a  Mid-day  Hymn,  for  the 

Fulton  street   prayer  meeting,    where  it  is  often  sung. 

It  commences, 

*' Jesus  this  mid-day  hour 
We  consecrate  to  Thee; 
Forgetful  of  each  earthly  care. 
We  would  Thy  glory  see.  " 

Some  writers  mention  Monson,  as  the  place  where  she 
wrote  her  twilight  hymn.  This  is  a  mistake.  On  the 
original  manuscript,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Hammond,  she 
says;  "Written  at  Ellington,  Connecticut,  in  reply  to  a 
censure  for  Twilight  Rambles,  August  1818."  Near  the 
close  of  her  pilgrimage,  she  penned  these  lines:  "As  to 
my  history,  it  is  soon  told;  a  sinner  saved  by  grace  and 
sanctified  by  trials." 


3Irs.  Broicri's  hymn  illustrated.  81 


Stealing  Away  to  Jesus. 

%  brief  circular,  announcing  the  preaching  of  my  II- 
■^  histrated  Sermons,  attracted  the  attention  of  little 
^  Alinnie  whose  parents  would  not  permit  her  to  go 
to  any  church  or  Sunday  school,  as  they  did  not  believe 
in  Christ.  Through  her  pleadings  permission  was  given 
her  to  attend  our  services  in  the  "  Union  Tabernacle"  at 
Broad  St.  and  Girard  Ave.,  Philadelphia. 
^Minnie  made  herself  a  little  book  in  which  to  put  down 
every  wrong  word  and  action  during  the  day.  Said  she 
to  her  mother,  "  It  seems  as  if  my  little  page  gets  so  full 
every  day,  that  it  makes  me  feel  very  bad.  I  am  so  naugh- 
ty.   It  seems  every  thing  I  do,  is  sinful." 

Our  meetings  continued  six  weeks.  Daily  would  INIin- 
nie  come,  long  before  the  time  of  service,  and  putting 
her  hand  in  mine  would  look  up  so  imploringly,  asking 
the  way  to  Jesus. 

We  gave  her  a  little  hymn  book,  which,  with  her  lit- 
tle Bible,  she  kept  in  a  little  garret  store-room,  where  she 
Avould  go  after  service,  saying,  that  she  wished  to  be  left 
alone.  Her  mother  supposed  it  was  in  order  to  play,  or 
read  some  favorite  book,  and  never  interrupted  her;  but 
after  her  death,  her  Bible  and  hymn-book  were  found 
lying  there,  having  been  evidently  much  read.  Thus  it 
became  evident  that  this  little  disciple  had  been  stealing 
away  to  this  garret,  to  enjoy  quiet  and  sweet  communion 
with  her  Saviour. 

Two  verses  in  Isaiah,  she  had  emjjhasized,  and  then  re- 
ferred to  them  especially  on  the  flyleifofher  Bible  as 
expressive  of  her  experience,  "  Behold,  God  is  my  Salva- 
tion :  I  will  trust  and  not  be  afraid  ;  for  the  Lord  Jeho- 
vah is  my  STRENGTH  and  soxg  ;  he  also  is  become  my 
salvation  ;  Therefore  with  joy  shall  ye  draw  Avater  out  of 
the  wells  of  salvation.  " 


82     Prayer  ''in  the  solitude  so  drear,''  rewarded. 


A  Mother  Recognized  by  a  Hymn, 


AE,  was  raging  in  Canada  in 
1754  between  the  French  and 
English.  The  Indians  took  part 
with  the  French  and  came  as  tar 
as  Pennsylvania,  where  they 
bnrned  the  houses,  and  murder- 
ed the  people.  ,  ,  ■,  i 
In  1 7  55  they  reached  the  dwel- 
lino-  of  a  poor  Christian  family. 
The  father  and  son  were  in- 
stantly killed.  A  little  daughter, 
Rogina,  was  taken,  with  many 

other  children,  into  captivity.  +l-,nrnv 

They  were  led  many  miles  through  woods  and  thoiny 
bushes,  that  nobody  could  follow  them 

Reg  na  and  a  little  girl  two  yeai-s  old  were  given  to  an 
old  IiKlian  widow.  The  poor  children  were  ^i;  ^^  to  go 
into  the  forest  to  gather  roots  and  other  prov  ons  or 
the  old  woman;  and  when  they  would  not  bung  er 
enough,  she  would  beat  them  in  so  cruel  a  manner  that 
they  were  nearly  killed.  ,     -o- 

Regina  continually  repeated  ^^e  vei^s  from  t^^^^^^^^ 
ble,  a?  well  as  the  hymns  which  she  had  ^Jf  ^^^^^^^  ^^^v 
and  taught  them  to  the  little  girl  Ami  often  wo  d  key 
retire  to  a  tree  and  kneel  down,  when  Regma  would  pia) , 
and  teach  her  little  companion  the  way  to  Jesus. 
Often  they  cheered  each  other  by  the  hymn, 

"  Alone,  yet  not  alone  am  I,  ^^ 

Though  in  the  solitude  so  drear. 

In  this  sad  State  they  remained  ""^VrS^tT'com^ 
Regina  reached  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  her  little  com- 
panion   eleven  years. 


r 


Incident  of  Mrs.  Jolin  Hartman  and  daughter.     83 


In  1^64  the  providence  of  God  brought  the  English 
Colonel  Boquetto  the  place  where  they  were  in  captivity. 
He  conquered  the  Indians  and  forced  them  to  ask  for 
peace.  The  first  condition  he  made  was  that  they  should 
restore  all  the  prisoners  they  had  taken. 

Thus  the  tM^o  girls  were  released.  More  than  four  hun- 
dred captives  were  brought  to  Col.  Boquet. 

It  was  an  aifecting  sight.  The  soldiers  gave  them  food 
and  clothing,  took  them  to  Carlisle,  and  published  in  the 
newspapers  that  all  jiarents  who  had  lost  their  children 
might  come  and  get  them. 

Regina's  mother  came;  but,  alas !  her  child  had  be- 
come a  stranger  to  her.  Regina  had  acquired  the  appear- 
ance and  manners  of  the  natives,  and  by  no  means  could 
the  mother  discover  her  daughter.  Seeing  her  Meep  in 
bitter  disappointment,  the  colonel  asked  her  if  she  could 
recollect  nothing  by  which  her  poor  girl  miirht  be  known, 
bhe  at  length  thought  of,  and  began  to  sing,  the  hymn, 

"  Alone,  yet  not  alone  am  I, 

Though  in  this  wilderness  so  drear  ; 

I  feel  my  Saviour  always  nigh, 

He  comes  the  weary  hours  to  cheer, 

I  am  with  him,  and  he  with  me  ; 
Even  here  alone  I  cannot  be.  " 

_  Scarcely  had  the  mother  sunor  two  lines  of  it  when  Ee- 
gma  rushed  from  the  crowd,  began  to  sing  it  also,  and 
threw  herself  into  her  mother's  arms.  They  both  M'ept  for 
joy;  and  Avith  her  young  companion,  Avhose  friends  had 
not  sought  her,  she  went  to  her  mother's  house.  Happi- 
ly for  herself,  though  Regina  had  not  seen  a  book  for 
nine  years,  she  at  once  remembered  how  to  read  the 
iiible. 

This  narrative  was  recorded  by  Pastor  Rone  of  Elsi- 
nore. 


84  Phcebe  Cary  and  her  hymns. 


•^^ 


Author  of  *  One  sweetly  solemn  thought.  " 

(t)  HIS  hymn,  so  precious  to  those  whose  affection  is  set 
^  on  things  above,  was  penned  by  Miss  Phoebe  Cary. 
She  M'as  born  in  the  Miami  Valley,  Ohio,  September 
4,  1824.  Early  in  life  she  and  her  sister  Alice  became 
so  busy  with  their  poetic  pens,  that  by  the  year  1849 
they  had  a  volume  ready  for  the  press  of  which  Phoebe 
made  the  following  record:  "Alice  audi  have  been  col- 
lecting and  revising  all  our  published  poems  to  send  to 
New  York  for  publication.  We  are  to  receive  for  them 
one  hundred  dollars.  "  After  the  issue  of  this  volume 
they  were  tempted  to  visit  their  unknown  friends  in  the 
East,  who  had  written  kind  words  of  approbation. 

Mr  Whittier commemorates  their  visit  by  a  poem  pub- 
lished after  the  death  of  Alice,  which  commences  thus : — 

"  Years  since  (  but  names  to  me  before, ) 
Two  sisters  souglit  at  eve  my  door  ; 
Two  song-birds  wandering  from  their  nest 
A  gray  old  farm  house  in  the  West." 

Speaking  of  the  welcome  he  gave,  he  says : — 

"  What  could  I  other  than  I  did? 
Could  I  a  singing  bird  forbid? 
Deny  the  wind-stirred  leaf?     Rebuke 
The  music  of  the  forest  brook?" 

The  wind  that  stirred  their  forest  nest  was  some  unpro- 
pitious  gales  that  made  home  uncomfortable  after  the 
death  of  a  mother,  and  unsuited  to  that  intellectual  ad- 
vancement they  so  much  coveted.  So  with  much  courage 
and  but  little  money,  the  sisters  bade  adieu  to  the  home 
of  their  childhood,  and  sought  to  make  to  themselves  one 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  Having  rented  two  or  three 
rooms  in  an  unfashionable  neighborhood  they  began  to 
do  with  their  might,  whatsoever  their  hands  could  do 
with  the  pen,  to  make  a  living.  Success  attended  their 
efforts  till   they   were  enabled  to  purchase  a  home  on 


CJ>^77^ 


c: 


Phoebe  Cavifs  hymn  continued.  87 


Twentieth  street,  from  which  they  ascended  in  after  years 
to  their  home  above. 

The  two  sisters  were  united  by  the  warmest  affection. 
Phoebe  said,  "  It  seems  to  me  that  a  cord  stretches  from 
Alice's  heait  to  mine."  AVhen  this  cord  was  severed  by 
the  rude  hand  of  death  it  left  a  bleeding  wound  which 
time  could  not  heal.  A  shadow  seemed  to  linger  upon 
the  hearthstone  after  the  loved  form  of  Alice  was  removed 
to  the  Greenwood  cemetery  that  became  the  shadow  of 
death  to  the  surviving  sister.  How  keenly  she  felt  the 
departure  of  Alice  can  be  judged  from  the  last  sweet 
hymn  she  penned,  in  which  she  says; — 

"  0  mine  eyes  be  not  so  tearful ; 

Drooping  spirit,  rise,  be  clieerful ; 

Heavy  soul  why  art  tliou  fearful? 
"Nature's  sepulchre  is  breaking, 

And  the   earth,  her  gloom  ibrsaking, 

Into  life  and  light  is   waking! 
"0  the  weakness  and  the  madness 

Of  the  heart  that  holdeth  sadness 

When  all  else  is  light  and  gladness! 
"  Though  thy  treasure  death  hath  taken, 

They  that  sleep  are   not  forsaken, 

They  shall  hear  the  trump  and  waken. 
"  Shall  not  he  who   life   supplieth 

To   the  dead  seed    where  it  lieth 

Quicken  also  man  who  dieth  ? 
"Yea  the  power  of  death  was  ended 

Wht-n  He  who  to  hell  descended. 

Rose,  and  up  to  heaven  ascended. 
"  Rise,  my  soul,  then,  from  dejection, 

See  in  nature  the  reflection 

Of  the  dear  Lord  's    resurrection. 
''  Let  his  promise  leave  thee  never: 

'If  the  night  of  death  T  sever 

Ye  shall  also  live  forever.'  " 

During  the  heat  of  the  summer  of  1871  she  went  to 
Newport  hoping  to  revive  her  sinking  frame  but  suddenly 


88 


Phoebe  Cary  continued. 


and  unexpectedly  the  summons  came  that  called  her  to 
that  home  of  which  slie  wrote  in  her  popular  hymn : — 

"  One  sweetly  solemn  thought 
Comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er, 
I  am  nearer  home  to  day 
Than  1  have  been  before." 

In  the  last  year  of  her  life  she  was  much  cheered  by 
the  incident,  given  on  the  opposite  page.  Writing  to 
an  aged  friend,  she  says:  "I  enclose  the  hymn,  and  the 
story  for  you,  not  because  1  am  vain  of  the  notice,  but 
because  I  thought  you  would  feel  a  peculiar  interest  in 
them,  when  you  know  the  hymn  was  written  eighteen 
years  ago,  (1852,)  in  your  house.  I  composed  it  in  the 
little  back  third  story  bed-room,  one  Sunday  morning, 
after  coming  from  church ;  and  it  makes  me  happy  to 
think  that  any  word  I  could  say,  has  clone  a  little  good 
in  the  world."  After  her  death,  Mr.  Conwell  received 
a  letter  from  the  old  man  referred  to,  of  whom  he  says, 
that  he  "has  become  a  hard  worldng  Christian,  \vliile 
'Harry'  has  renounced  gambling  and  all  attendant  vices, 
and  thus  the  hymn  has  saved  from  ruin,  at  least  two^ 
who  seldom  or  never  entered  a  house  of  worship. " 

The  thought  of  the  following  verse  was  exemplified  in 
her  death.  Mary  C.  Ames,  her  biographer,  says,  "With- 
out an  instant's  warning,  her  death  throe  came.  She 
knew  it.  Throwing  u|)  her  arms  in  instinctive  fright, 
this  loving,  believing,  but  timid  soul,  who  had  never 
stood  alone  in  all  her  mortal  life,  as  she  felt  herself 
diifting  out  into  the  unknown,  the  eternal,  starting  on 
the  awful  passage,  from  whence  there  is  no  return,  cried, 
in  a  low,  piercing  voice:  'O  God,  have  mercy  on  my 
soull'   and  died.'^ 

"  0,  if  ray  mortal  feet 

Have  almost  gained  the  brink  ; 
If  it  be  I  am  nearer  home 

Even  to-day  than  I  think,''  etc. 


w 


Phoebe  Cary^s  hymn. 


89 


C 


Gamblers  Reclaimed  by  a  Hymn. 


CHOES  of  hymns  reverberate 
a  long  while. 

Col.  Russel  H.  Conwell 
while  on  a  visit  to  China,  was 
an  eye-witness  to  the  following 
scene : — 

"Two  Americans,  one  a 
young  man,  the  other  over  for- 
ty, were  drinking  and  playing 
at  cards  in  a  gambling  house  in 
China.  While  the  older  one 
was  shuffling  the  cards,  the 
younger  began  to  hum,  and  finally  sung  in  a  low  tone, 
but  quite  unconsciously,  the  hymn  : — 


"  '  One  sweetly  solemn  thought 
Comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er, 
I  am  nearer  home  to-day 
Thau  I  have  been  before. ' 


w^ 


The  older  one  threw  down  the  cards  on  the  floor  and  said; 

" '  Harry,  where  did  you  learn  that  tune  ? ' 

"'What  tune?' 

" '  Why,  that  one  you  have  been  singing. ' 

"  The  young  man  said  he  did  not  know  what  he  had 
been  singing.  But  when  the  older  one  repeated  some  of 
the  lines,  he  said  they  were  learned  in  the  Sunday  School. 

" '  Come,  Harry, '  said  the  older  one,  '  come,  here's 
what  I've  Avon  from  you.  As  for  me,  as  God  sees  me, 
I  have  played  my  last  game,  and  drank  my  last  bottle. 
I  have  misled  you,  Harry,  and  I  am  soi-ry  for  it.  Give 
me  your  hand,  my  boy,  and  say  that,  for  old  America's 
sake,  if  no  other,  you  will  quit  the  infernal  business.  '  " 

Mr.  Conwell  says  that  both  of  the  gamblers  were  per- 
manently reclaimed  by  the  influence  of  this  hymn. 


1/ 


90  John  Ccnnleh. 


C 


'■  Jesus,  my  all  to  Heaven  is  gone. " 

fHIS  sweet  hymn  is  said  to  have  been  a  description 
of  the  author's  experience.  It  was  written  by  John 
Cennick,  wlio  was  born  at  Keading  in  1717. 
"  As  a  youtli  he  delighted  in  attending  dances,  play- 
ing at  cards,  and  going  to  the  tlieatre."  In  1735,  while 
jjacing  the  streets  ot*  London,  he  suddenly  felt  great  con- 
victions of  sin.  At  first  he  yielded  to  despair,  was  "  weary 
of  life,  and  often  prayed  for  death." 

He  fled  to  and  fro,  seeking  rest  in  infidelity  and  open 
sin.  At  length  he  tried  to  rid  himself  of  sin  by  penance. 
Says  he,  "I  even  ate  acorns,  leaves  of  trees,  crabs,  and 
grass. "  For  three  long  years  ho  groaned  under  the  bur- 
dens of  a  guilty  conscience.  This  thought  he  ex^iresses  in 
the  verses : — 

"  This  is  the  way  I  long  have  sought, 

And  mourned  because  1  found  it  not ; 
My  grief  a  burden  long  has  been, 

Because  I  Avas  not  saved  from  sin. 
Tlie  more  I  strove  against  its  power, 

I  felt  its  weight  and  guilt  the  more  ; 
Till  late  I  heard  my  Saviour  say, 

Come  hither,  soul,  I  am  the  way.  " 

While  reading  Whitfield's  journal  light  dawned  upon 
liis  soul. 

In  1739  he  commenced  work  for  Christ,  in  teaching 
and  preaching  among  the  colliers  at  Kingswood. 

Eventually  he  w-ent  along  with  AVesley  and  Whitfield 
in  their  preaching  tours.  In  1745  he  cast  his  lot  with  the 
Moravians.  In  1755  he  w'as  taken  ill  of  fever  and  died 
in  London. 

He  is  the  author  of  the  well  known  hymn, 
"  Children  of  the  Heavenly  King." 


Cenniclc's  hymn  illustrated.  91 


"Now,  I  will  tell  to  sinners  'round 

What  a  dear  Saviour  1  have  found.  " 

fEING  much  exhausted  during  the  delivery  of  a  course 
of  "  Illustrated  Sermons "  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  we 
proposed  to  meet  any  in  a  social  gathering,  on  Sat- 
urday evening  in  the  parlor  of  a  friend.  After  spending 
the  evening  in  general  conversation,  the  group  of  young 
friends  were  about  bidding  each  other  "  good  nio-ht, " 
when  a  little  orphan,  about  ten  years  of  age,  of  her  own 
accord,  arose  at  the  sofa  and  said:  ''Mr.  Long,  before  we 
separate;  I  would  like  to  say  something.  "  Breathless 
silence  following,  she  added  :  "  I  have  been  seeking  Jesus 
all  day  at  home  in  my  closet,  and  I  have  found  Him,  and 
I  want  my  playmates  to  seek  and  find  Him  too.  Let 
us  pray. "  As  we  sank  in  that  parlor,  many  tears  at- 
tested the  effect  of  that  little  pleading  voice  that  was 
leading  us  at  a  throne  of  grace,  and  of  the  interest  awak- 
ened by  the  unexpected  testimony  of  one  so  young,  whose 
heart  was  so  full  that  she  could  not  go  home  without  tel- 
ling "'round  what  a  dear  Saviour"  she  "had  found.  " 

The  next  week  she  met  a  little  ragged  boy  on  the  street, 
and  was  overheard  saying  to  him,  as  she  caught  him  by 
the  hand,  "i^ re  you  interested  in  Jesus?"  "I  guess  I 
would  be  if  I  had  anybody  to  tell  me  about  Him.  But 
I've  got  no  mother."  "Neither  have  I,"  said  the  little 
Mary,  "but  come  to  Jesus  and  he  Avill  take  care  of  you." 
At  the  close  of  an  "Illustrated  Sermon"  in  the  Luth- 
eran church  at  Ashland,  Pa.,  on  going  down  the  aisle, 
I  saw  a  little  girl  getting  up  on  the  bench,  that  she 
might  speak  to  me.  As  I  drew  near  she  wished  me  to 
bend  over  my  head,  that  she  might  whisper  a  precious 
secret.  As  I  did  so,  she  said  softly :  "  I've  found  Jesus. " 
It  came  so  joyously  and  sweetly  from  her  lips  that  it  left 
an  echo  that  shall  never  cease  from  my  memory. 


W 


92  William  Cowper. 


Cowper  and  his  Hymns. 

fILLIAM  COWPER  is  a  name  that  will  linger 
upon  the  page  of  hymnology,  as  long  as  there  are 
sinners  upon  the  earth  to  sing  of  the  "fountain  filled 
with  blood."  He  was  the  son  of  the  rector  of  Berk- 
hampstead  England,  the  Rev.  John  Cowper.  The  poet 
was  born  November  15, 1731.  One  of  the  greatest  misfor- 
tunes that  ever  befell  hira  was  the  loss  of  an  aifectionate 
mother,  when  he  was  but  six  years  of  age. 

His  father  seemed  ill  adapted  for  the  training  of  a 
child  whose  "shyness,  nervousness  and  sensitiveness  were 
greatly  aggravated  by  feeble  health,  and  weak  eyes. 
We  may  infer  his  injudieiousness  from  the  fact  that 
M'hen  his  boy  was  eleven,  he  made  him  read  a  treatise  on 
suicide  and  give  him  his    opinion  upon  it.  " 

At  18  he  began  the  study  of  law  for  which  he  did  not 
seem  to  be  naturally  inclined,  as  he  says  he  was  "con- 
stantly employed  from  morning  to  night,  in  giggling 
and  making  giggle."  A  cousin  having  procured  for  him 
the  "Clerkship  of  the  Journals,"  he  was  notified  to  stand 
an  examination  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords.  The 
time  ap})ointed  was  to  him  such  an  approaching  "'day 
of  terror"  that  its  prospect  weighed  so  heavily  upon 
his  frail  tenement  that  at  length  it  unsettled  his  reason. 

The  dark  November  night  preceding  he  made  several 
attempts  to  commit  suicide,  first  by  taking  poison. 
Twenty  times  he  put  the  black  phial  to  his  mouth. 
His  courage  failing  him  he  next  tried  to  drown  himself, 
then  with  a  knife  tried  to  stab  himself,  and  at  last  with 
a  cord  tried  to  hang  himself  at  the  top  of  his  door.  But 
the  cord  breaking  and  other  means  failing  the  half-dead 
man  now  began  to  turn  his  eyes  away  from  the  bar  of 
the  House  of  Lords,  to  the  bar  of  the  King  of  Kings. 

At  length  his  brother  found  him  in  his  terrible  agony, 


c 


William     Cowper. 


William  Cowper  continued.  95 


his  knees  smiting  together,  and  his  quivering  lips  uttering 

tlie  piercing  cry,  "Oh,  brother,  I  am  damned!     Think 

of  eternity,  and  then  think  what  it  must  be  to  be  damned." 

While  in  this  condition  he  penned  those  piteous  lines : — 

"  Man  disavows  and  Deity  disowns  me 
Hell  might  afford  my  miseries  a  shelter; 
Therefore  hell  keeps  her  ever-hungry  mouths  all 
Bolted  against  me. " 

It  is  sad  to  think  how  one,  who  has  since  poured  into 
so  many  broken  hearts  the  balm  of  Gilead,  should  have 
had  his  own  wrung  with  what  he  called  "unutterable 
anguish,"  and  yet  this  bitter  experience  may  have  taught 
him  afterwards  to  say  with  more  emphasis  of  that  fountain 
the  "  thief  rejoiced  to  see," 

"  And  there  have  I,  as  vile  as  he, 
Washed  all  my  sins  away.  " 

The  Rev.  Martin  Madan,  a  cousin  whom  he  had 
hitherto  avoided  came  to  him  in  this  time  of  need,  and 
told  him  of  Jesus.  As  they  were  seated  on  the  bedside 
Cowper  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  as  a  ray  of  hope  flit 
across  the  dark  horizon,  but  shortly  afterwards  actual 
brain  disease  came  on  that  resulted  in  insanity,  and  poor 
Cowper  was  taken  to  St  Alban's. 

Here  it  was  that  in  less  than  two  years  he  was 
restored  mentally  and  saved  spiritiially,  and  in  a  double 
sense  was  found  "sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  clothed,  and 
in  his  right  mind."  In  after  years  how  exquisitely  he 
described  this  experience  in  poetic  form: — 

"  I  was  a  stricken  deer  that  left  the  herd 
Long  since  :  with  many  an  arrow  deep  infixed 
My  panting  side  was  charged,  when  I  withdrew 
To  seek  a  tranquil  death  in  distant  shades. 
There  was  I  found  by  One  who  had  Himself 
Been  hurt  by  archers.     In  his  side  He  bore 
And  in  his  hands  and  feet  the  cruel  scars. 
*  With  gentle  force  soliciting  the  darts, 

He  drew  them  forth,  and  healed  and  bade  me  live." 


c 


98  William  Cowper. 


Cowper's  Conversion  and  Hymns  relating  Thereto. 

fOWPEE-'S  hymns  M'ere  types  of  liis  varied  experi- 
ences. This  Avas  especially  true  of  those  referring 
to  his  new  birth. 

July,  1764,  after  being  an  inmate  of  the  Insane  Asyl- 
um at  St.  Albans  for  six  months,  he  seated  himself  near 
the  window,  and  seeing  a  Bible,  took  it  up,  and  as  he 
0])ened  it,  his  eyes  lit  on  Romans  III.  25.  The  scales 
fell  at  once  from  his  eyes.     Says  he, — 

"  Immediately  I  received  strength  to  believe,  and 
the  full  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shone  upon 
rae.  I  saw  the  sufficiency  of  the  atonement  He  had 
made,  my  pardon  sealed  in  his  blood,  and  all  the  full- 
ness and  completeness  of  his  justification.  In  a  moment 
I  believed  and  received  the  Gospel." 

These  words  he  had  doubtless  said  before,  but  only 
now  he  could  say,  "I  saw;"  thus  illustrating  the  sen- 
timents of  his  exquisitely   beautiful  hymn  beginning, — 

"The  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  word, 
And  brings  the  truth  to  sight." 

To  this  he  refers,  as  he  continues : — 

"  Whatever  my  friend  ]\Iadan  had  said  to  me  so  long 
before  revived  in  all  its  clearness  'with  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  and  with  power.'  Unless  the  Almighty 
arm  had  been  under  me,  I  think  I  should  have  died  of 
gratitude  and  joy.  My  eyes  filled  with  tears  and  my 
voice  choked  with  transport  ,*  I  could  only  look  up  to 
heaven  in  silence,  overwhelmed  with   love  and  wonder. 

After  this  blissful  experience,  he  composed  his  first 
hymn,  which  he  entitled,   "The  happy  change^  " — 

"How  blest  thy  creature  is,  0  God, 
When,  with  a  single  eye. 
He  views  the  lustre  of  thy  word, 
The  day-spring  from  on  high  !  " 


Cowper^s  liymns  continued. 


97 


"  But  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  best  described 
in  his  own  words ;  it  was  'joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory. '  Thus  was  my  heavenly  Father  in  Christ  Je- 
sus pleased  to  give  me  the  full  assurance  of  faith,  and  out 
of  a  stony,  unbelieving  heart  to  raise  up  a  child  unto 
Abraham.  How  glad  I  should  have  been  to  have  spent 
every  moment  in  prayer  and  thanksgiving !  I  lost  no 
op])ortunity  of  repairing  to  a  throne  of  grace,  but  flew 
to  it  with  an  eagerness  irresistible  and  never  to  be  sat- 
isfied. Could  I  help  it?  Could  I  do  otherwise  than 
to  love  and  rejoice  in  my  reconciled  Father  in  Jesus 
Christ?  The  Lord  had  enlarged  my  heart,  and  I  ran  in 
the  ways  of  His  commandments. " 

This  last  thought  he  beautifully  expressed  in  this — 

"  My  soul  rejoices  to  pursue 
The  steps  of  him  1  love, 
Till  glory  breaks  upon  my  view 
In  brighter  worlds  above.  " 

"  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have  spent  every  mo- 
ment in  i^rayer  and  thanksgiving!  For  many  succeed- 
ing weeks  tears  were  ready  to  flow  if  I  did  but  speak 
of  the  Gospel,  or  mention  the  name  of  Jesus.  To  re- 
joice day  and  night  was  my  employment.  O,  that  the 
ardor  of  my  first  love  had  coEtinued!" 

This  thought  he  embodies  in  the  well-known  hymn, — 

"  Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God.  " 

In  which  he  says  in  the  second  and  third  stanza, — 

"Where  is  the  blessedness  I  knew 
"When  first  I  saw  the  Lord? 
Where  is  the  soul-refreshing  view 
Of  Jesus  and  his  word? 

"What  peacrful  hours  I  then  enjoyed  ! 
How  sweet  their  memory  still  ! 
But  now  I  find  an  aching  void 
The  world  ean  never  fill.  " 


w 


7?, 
-XJ 


08  Cowper's  hymns  continued. 

Origin  of  Cowper's  Second  Hymn. 

■^  ^  June  1765,  Cowper,  being  restored  to  liealtli,  left 
^  the  asylum  at  St.  Alban's.  Of  his  tour  to  Hunting- 
don, he  says,  "  It  is  impossible  to  tell  with  how  de- 
lightful a  sense  of  Ills  protection  and  fatherly  care  of  me, 
it  pleased  the  Almighty  to  favor  me  during  the  whole  of 
my  journey." 

Feeling  his  loneliness  in  his  new  home,  and  his  heart 
at  the  same  time  yearning  for  communion  with  his  newly 
found  Saviour,  he,  at  eventide,  wandered  forth  in 
the  fields,  where  he  found  a  closet  among  the  green 
shrubbery  and  bushes.  While  in  this  "calm  retreat," 
and  "silent  shade,"  the  gate  of  heaven  seemed  opened  to 
his  view,  and  the  Lord  gave  him  a  glorious  manifestation 
of  his  presence. 

The  next  day  being  the  Sabbath  his  feet  turned  to  the 
sanctuary.  This  was  the  first  time  he  met  with  God's 
peo])le  in  their  Sabbath  home,  since  his  conversion. 

The  story  of  the  Prodigal  Son  was  the  lesson  of  the 
day.  Cowper's  heart  was  so  full  that  he  found  it  difficult 
to  restrain  his  emotions.  Of  one,  devoutly  engaged  in 
worship  in  the  same  pew,  he  says:  "While  he  was  sing- 
ing the  Psalms  I  looked  fit  him;  and  observing  him 
intent  upon  his  holy  employment,  I  could  not  help 
saying  in  my  heart,  with  much  emotion,  'The  Lord  bless 
you  for  praising  Him,  whom  my  soul  lovetli ! ' " 

After  the  church  services  Avcre  over,  he  hastened  at 
once  to  the  secluded  spot  that  had  become  so  hallowed 
with  the  associations  of  the  day  before.  "How,"  he 
exclaims,  "shall  I  express  M'hat  the  Lord  did  for  me, 
except  by  saying  that  he  made  all  his  goodness  to  pass 
befcre  me?  I  seemed  to  speak  to  him  face  to  face,  as  a 
man  conversetii  with  his  friend,  except  that  my  speecii 
was  only  in  tears  of  joy,  and  groan  ings   which  cannot  be 


c 


Comperes  second  hymn.  99 


uttered.  I  could  say  indeed  with  Jacob,  not  how  dread- 
ful, but  how  lovely  is  this  place! — tliis  is  none  other  than 
the  house  of  God." 

Tliis  foretaste  of  heaven,  in  the  "secret  place  of  the 
Most  High"  gave  rise  to  Cowper's  second  hymn,  that  has 
become  incorporated  in  all  the  standard  hymn  books  of 
Christendom. 

How  precious  and  memorable  the  stanzas  of  the  fol- 
lowing hymn  when  we  thus  take  into  account  the  sur- 
rounding circumstances  that  gave  them  birth: — 

"Far  from  the  world  0  Lord,  I  flee, 
From  strife  and  tumult  far; 
From  scenes  where  Satan  wages  still 
His  most  successful  war. 

"The  calm  retreat,  the  silent  shade, 
With  prayer  and  praise  agree  ; 
And  seem,  by  thy  sweet  bounty  made 
For  those  who  follow  thee. 

"There,  if  thy  Spirit  touch  the  soul, 
And  grace  her  mean  abode. 
Oh  with  what  peace,  and  joy,  and  love, 
She  communes  with,  her  God! 

"There  like  the  nightingale,  she  pours 
Her  solitary  lays. 
Nor  ask  a  witness  of  her  song, 
Nor  thirst3  for  human  praise." 

Speaking  of  Cowper  at  this  period,  Montgomery  says : — 
"The  first  fruits  of  his  muse,  after  he  had  been  bap- 
tized with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire,  will  ever  be  pre- 
cious (independent  of  their  other  merits)  as  the  transcript 
of  his  happiest  feelings,  the  memorials  of  his  walk  with 
God,  and  his  daily  experience  amidst  conflicts  and  dis- 
couragements of  the  consoling  power  of  that  religion  in 
which  he  had  found  peace,  and  often  enjoyed  peace  to 
a  degree  that  passed  nnderstanding." 

Cowper  was  a  man  of  prayer,  and  Xewton  said  of  him, 
"No  one  walked  with  God  more  closely." 

C  zzzzm 


100  William  Cowper. 


Cowper's  Olney  Hymns- 

fOWPER    had  gone  to    Ifuntingdon    to  be  near  his 
brother,  who  was  then  studying  at  Cambridge. 
Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the    Unwins, 
who  kindly  received    him  as  a  member  of  their  family, 
and  became  his  warmest  friends  for  life.  • 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Unwin  in  1767,  Kev.  John 
jSTewton  invited  Cowper  and  JSIrs.  Unwin  to  move 
to  Olney  and  secured  a  residence  for  them  near  his 
own  dwelling.  The  twelve  succeeding  years  became  the 
happiest  period  of  Cowper's  life. 

Newton's  estimate  of  Cowper's  worth  lie  in  after  years 
expressed  in  this  strong  language: — 

''In  humility,  simplicity,  and  devotedness  to  God,  in 
the  clearness  of  his  views  of  evangelical  truth,  the  strength 
and  the  comforts  he  obtained  from  them,  and  the  uniform 
and  beautiful  example  by  which  he  adorned  them,  I 
thought  he  had  but  few  equals.  He  was  eminently  a 
blessing,  both  to  me  and  to  my  people,  by  his  advice,  his 
conduct,  and  his  prayers.  The  I^ord  who  had  brought 
us  together,  so  knit  our  h^iarts  and  affections,  that  for 
nearly  twelve  years  we  were  seldom  separated  for  twelve 
hours  at  a  time,  when  we  Avere  awake  and  at  home.  The 
first  six  I  passed  in  daily  admiring  and  trying  to  imitate 
liini;  during  the  second  six  I  walked  pensively  with  him 
in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death." 

Newton  had  a  thousand  parishioners.  In  the  culti- 
vation of  this  extensive  field  of  usefulness,  he  em- 
jiloyed  every  available  instrumentality.  He  says:  "We 
had  meetings  two  or  three  times  in  a  week  for  prayer. 
These  Cowper  constantly  attended  with  me.  For  a  time 
his  natural  constitutional  unwillingness  to  be  noticed  in 
public  kept  him  in  silence.  But  it  was  not  very  long 
before  the  ardency   of  his  love  to  his  Saviour,  and  his 


c 


Cowper's  Olney  hymns.  101 


desire  of  being  useful  to  others,  broke  through  every 
restraint.  He  frequently  felt  a  difficulty  and  trepidation 
in  the  attempt;  but,  when  he  had  once  begun,  all  difficulty 
vanished,  and  he  seemed  to  speak,  though  with  self- 
abasement  and  humiliation  of  spirit,  yet  with  that  free- 
dom and  fervency  as  if  he  saw  the  Lord,  whom  he  ad- 
dressed, face  to  face." 

Newton  felt  the  need  of  hymns  specially  adapted  to 
these  prayer-meetings  and  the  heart  experiences  of  the 
common  people,  and  so  in  1770  he  induced  Cowper  to 
undertake  their  preparation.  Six  years  later,  by  their 
united  efforts,  these  hymns  formed  a  volume,  and  were 
sent  forth  to  the  world  under  the  title  of  the  "Olney 
Hymn  Book." 

Among  the  first  was  the  following  one,  so  often  re- 
peated since,  in  similar  circles  of  prayer. 

When  we  remember  that  at  this  time  such  prayer-meet- 
ings in  private  houses,  not  specially  dedicated  to  God  was 
something  new,  and  quite  an  innovation  on  old  customs, 
we  see  great  force  and  beauty,  in  the  wording  of  this 
hymn : — 

"Jesus,  where'er  thy  people  meet, 
There  thej'  behold  thy  mercy-seat; 
Where'er  they  seek  tliee,  thou  art  found, 
And  every  place  is  hallowed  ground. 

"For  thou,  within  no  walls  confined, 
Inhabitest  the  humble' mind; 

Such  ever  bring  thee  where  they  come,  » 

And  going  take  thee  to  their  home. 

"Dear  Shepherd  of  thy  chosen  few, 
^  Thy  former  niercies  here  renew: 

Here  to  our  waiting  hearts  proclaim 
The  sweetness  of  thy  saving  name. 

"  Here    may  we  prove  the  power  of  prayer 
To  strengthen  faith,  and  sweeten  care, 
To  teach  our  faint  desires  to  rise, 
And  bring  all  heaven  before  our  eyes." 


102  William  Cow  per 


Birth  place  of  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood." 

fS  it  is  interesting  to  trace  tlie  origin  of  our  great 
rivers,  that  carry  with  them  so  many  and  such  varied 
blessings  in  their  meandering  course,  so  the  child  of 
God  finds  it  a  pleasing  and  profitable  exercise  to  go  back 
in  the  streams  of  hymn-history  to  their  humble  starting 
point.  As  Christianity  was  cradled  in  a  manger,  so 
"Rock  of  Ages,"  one  of  its  most  famous  hymns  is  tracea- 
ble to  the  conversion  of  its  author  amid  the  enclosure  of  an 
Irish  barn.  What  a  mighty  stream  of  influence  has 
swept  through  the  world  through  the  channel  opened 
up  by  the  singing  of 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul," 
yet  it  was  born  in  a  lowly  spring-house,  to  which  Wesley 
had  fled   for  shelter  from   the  infuriated   mob.     It  was 
thus  by  the  side  of  a  little  bubbling  spring,  he  taught  the 
world  to  sing  of  Christ, 

"  Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art, 
Freely  let  me  take  of  thee." 

In  the  secluded  shelter  of  some  over-hanging  trees  and 
rocks  that  shaded  a  little  brook,  Mrs.  Phoebe  H.  Brown 
was  accustomed  to  resort  in  the  summer  of  1818,  and  co- 
mingle  her  voice  in  prayer  and  praise,  with  the  soft  mur- 
murs of  the  silver  streamlet.  That  quiet  nook  gave 
birth  to  a  hymn  that  has  since  been  repeated  the  world 
over  by  the  hosts  of  God's  Israel,  who  with  her  can  say, 

"  I  love  to  steal  a  while  away.  " 

The  childrens'  hymn,  known  and  loved  as  far  as  the 
English  language  extends, 

"  I  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old,  " 
first  echoed  forth  from  an  humble  stage-coach  in  England, 
where  it  was  written  by  a  young  lady  in  1841. 

On  the  opposite  page  will  be  seen  the  little  group  in 
the  Olney  prayer-meeting,   for  which  Cowper  wrote  his 

C  g)/ 


Olney  'prayer-meeting. 


105 


immortal  hymn,  that  has  encircled  the  world  with  its 
hallowed  influences.  The  Great  House  is  especially 
designated  as  the  place  where  the  Olney  prayer-circle 
was  accustomed  to  gather  for  addresses,  singing,  and 
prayer. 

Little  did  Cowper  imagine,  when  he  first  heard 
Newton  announce,  and  this  small  praying  band  unite  in 
singing,  that 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blooJ," 
that  there  was  starting  a  song  that  would  afterwards  be 
caught  up  by  unnumbered  millions,  and  that  a  century 
later,  while  his 


poor  lisping,  stammering  tongue 


Lies  silent  in  the  grave, 
would  still  be  repeated  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of 
the  sun — and  continue  to  echo  round  the  globe 
"  Till  all  the  ransomed  church  of  God 
Be  saved,  to  sin    no  more.  " 

We  give  the  last  of  the  seven  verses  of  this  precious 
hymn,  as  they  are  generally  omitted : — 

"  Lord,  I  believe  Thou  hast  prepared, 
Unworthy  though  I  be. 
For  me  a  blood-bought  free  reward, 
A  golden  harp  for  me. 

"'T  is  strung,  and  tuned  for  endless  years, 
And  formed  by  power  divine. 
To  sound  in  God  the  Father's  ears 
No  other  name  but  Thine." 

These  were  days  of  sunshine  in  Cowper's  spiritual 
firmament.  Newton  tells  us  how  their  voices  came  to 
blend,  while  singing  of  "the  Lamb  once  slain." 

"I  heard  him  and  admired,  for  he  could  bring 
From  his  soft  harp  such  strains  as  angels  sing: 
Could  tell  of  free  salvation,  grace,  and  love, 
Till  angels  listened  from  their  home  above ; 
I  woke  my  lyre  to  join  his  rapturous  strain. 
We  sang  together  ot  the  lamb  once  slain.  " 


w 


108  Comperes  grave. 


A  Visit  to  Cowper's  Grave. 

"  I  went  alone.     'Twas  summer  time  ; 
And,  standing  there  bciore  tlie  shrine 

Of  that  illustrious  bard, 
I  read  his  own  lamiliar  name, 
And  thought  of  his  extensive  fame, 
And  felt  devotion's  sacred  flame, 
Which  we  do  well  to  guard. 
'"Far  from  the  world,  0  Lord,  I  flee.' 
How  sweet  the  words  appeared  to  me, 

Like  voices  in  a  dream ! 
'The  calm  retreat,  the  silent  shade,' 
Describe  the  spot  where  he  was  laid, 
And  where  surviving  friendships  paid 
Their  tribute  of  esteem. 
"  '  There  is  a  fountain.'     As  I  stood 
I  thought  I  gaw  the  crimson  '  flood,' 

And  some  '  beneath  '  the  wave  ; 
I  thought  the  stream  still  rolled  along, 
And  that  I  saw  the  'ransomed'  throng, 
And  that  I  heard  the  '  nobler  song' 
Of  Jesus'  'power  to  save.' 
"'When  darkness  long  has  veiled  my  mind,' 
And  from  these  words  1  felt  inclined 

In  sym[)athy,  to  weep; 
But  '  smiling  day  '  has  dawned  at  last, 
And  all  his  sorrows  now  are  past; 
No  temi)ter  now,  no  midnight  blast, 
To  spoil  the  poet's  sleep. 
"  '  0  for  a  closer  '' — even  so, 
For  we  who  journey  here  below 
Have  lived  too  far  from  God. 
Oh,  for  that  holy  life  I  said, 
Which  Enoch,  Noah,  Cowper,  led! 
Oh,  for  that  'purer  light'  to  shed 
Its  brightness  on  '  the  road  1' 
"  '  God  moves  in  a  mj'sterious  way  ; ' 
But  now  the  poet  seemed  to  say, 

'  No  mysteries  remain. 
On  earth  I  was  a  sufferer. 
In  heaven  I  am  a  conquerer; 
God  is  his  own  inierpreter, 
■  And  he  has  made  it  plain.'  " 


r 


Singing  of  Cowper^s  hymn.  109 


The  Hymn  on  which  a  Heart  "Rose  to  God." 

IIILE  Mr.  Ralph  Wells  was  hurrying  to  meet  the 

cars,  a  Sunday  school  teacher  hailed  him,  saying  : 

I  have  just  come  from  the  hospital,  where  I  found 

on  one  of  the  beds,  one  of  my  scholars,  a  lad  who  sent  for 

me.     I  found  that  he  had  met  with  a  terrible  accident, 

that  had  nearly  severed   both  his  limbs  from  his  body. 

"  O  teacher !"  he  said,  "  I  have  sent  for  you.  I  am 
glad  you  have  come  before  I  die.  I  have  something  to 
ask  of  you.  I  want  you  to  tell  me  a  little  more  about 
Jesus." 

"  Well,  my  dear  boy,  have  you  a  hope  iii  Him  ?" 

"  Yes,  teacher,  thank  God,  I  have  had  it  for  six 
months." 

"  Why,  you  never  said  anything  to  me  about  it." 

"No,  I  did  not,  teacher,  but  I  have  had  it,  and  I  find 
it  sustains  me  in  this  hour.  I  have  only  a  few;  minutes 
to  live,  and  I  would  like  you  to  sing  for  me." 

"What  shall  I  sing?" 

"O  sing: — 

"  There  is  a  fountain   filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Immaniiel's  veins, 
And  sinners  planged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains.'  " 

The  teacher  began  to  sing.  The  dying  lad  joining  in 
the  song  with  a  sweet  smile  on  his  countenance. 

"It was  that  hymn,"  said  he,  "among other  things,  on 
M-hich  my  heart  rose  to  Christ." 

He  then  put  his  arms  up  and  said,  "Teacher,  bend 
your  head."  He  bent  it  down.  The  dying  boy  kissed 
him.  "That  is  all  I  have  to  give  you,"  said  he.  "Good 
bye,"  and  he  was  gone. 


110  Cowpe7''s  hymn  continued. 


'There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood"  Illustrated. 


^^^ONTGOMERY  thought  the  figure  of  a  "fountain 

"^p  filled"   was   faulty   and  ought  to  be  represented  aa 

'' springing  up;"  but  the  Christian  world  has  not 

seen  fit  to  adopt  the  substitute  he  proposed,  which  reads 

thus : — 

"From  Calvary's  cross  a  fountain  flows 
Of  water  and  of  blood, 
More  healing  than  Bethesda's  pool, 
Or  famed  Siloa's  flood.  " 

A  traveller,  goihg  over  a  mountainous  region,  through 
an  accident,  fell  into  a  deep  chasm,  from  which  there 
seemed  to  be  no  way  of  escape.  The  sides  were  so  steep 
that  he  could  not  climb  up,  and  being  so  far  away  from 
the  reach  of  human  ears,  he  felt  as  if  his  cries  were  also 
in  vain.  While  overwhelmed  with  the  thought  of  im- 
pending rjiin,  he  heard  the  murmur  of  a  stream,  that  was 
stealing  its  way  under  the  overhanging  rocks.  It  seemed 
to  be  his  only  way  of  escape.  As  it  was  a  matter  of  life 
and  death,  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  decide  to  venture 
upon  the  stream  of  life.     So  he 

" plunged  beneath  that  flood," 


and  by  its  waters  was  carried  out  of  "the  horrible  pit," 
into  a  place  of  safety.  His  life  was  thus  saved ;  his 
fears  were  gone,  and  in  the  clear  sunlight  of  free- 
dom, he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

*'  Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

A  little  girl  expressed  this  thought  very  forcibly.  She' 
was  asked:  "Are  you  a  sinner?"  to  which  she  promptly 
replied,  "No,  sir!"  "Have  you  never  done  anything 
wrong ? "  "  Oh,  yes,"  she  replied ;  " a  great  many  times." 
"How  then  can  you  say  you  are  not  a  sinner?"  "It  is 
tooken  away"  said  she,  "I  have  trusted  in  Christ." 


Cowper's  hymn   continued.  Ill 


Illustrated  by  a  Death  Scene. 

tT  was  our  privilege  to  preach  in  the  Tenth  Baptist 
Church,  Philadelphia,  during  a  season  of  revival  in 
January,  1874.  At  the  close  of  one  of  the  evening 
meetings.  Captain  Timothy  Rogers,  long  a  member  of 
the  church,  and  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  faithful  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus,  rose,  and  plead  with  sinners  to  come  to 
the  "fountain  filled  with  blood."  At  the  conclusion  of 
his  earnest  address,  the  pastor,  Rev.  A.  J.  Rowland,  an- 
nounced a  hymn.  Captain  Rogers  requested  that  this 
might  be  changed  to  "  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with 
blood."  "Yes,"  said  the  pastor,  "let  us  sing  Captahi 
Rogers'  favorit(  hymn,  and  while  we  sing,  let  us  all  rise. 
If  there  be  any  who  would  be  cleansed  in  this  precious 
"fountain,"  let  them  come  forward  to  the  front  seats  as 
we  sing,  and  be  remembered  in  a  closing  prayer.  " 

All  arose ;  among  them  Captain  Rogers,  who  stood 
taller  than  all  the  rest,  looking  anxiously  and  tenderly 
over  the  room,  to  see  who  would  accept  the  invitation. 
While  the  words  of  the  second  verse  were  beinjr  sune: — ■ 

"And  there  have  I,  as  vile  us  he, 
Washed  all  my  sins  awaj^," 

the  captain  suddenly  sank,  and  fell  on  the  floor. 

A  number  of  the  brethren,  among  them  Dr.  S.  Brown, 

hastened  to  his  side,   and  carried   him  into  an  adjoining 

room.     Thinking  he  had  fallen  in  a  fit,  that  would  soon 

subside,  the  audience  kept   on  singing  the  hymn.     As 

they  were  singing  the  last  verse, 

"Then,  in  a  nobler,  sweeter  song, 
I'll  sing  thy  power  to  save, 
When  this  poor  lisping,  stammering  tongue 
Lies  silent  in  the  grave," 

the  pastor  returned  to  the  audience-room,  and  said: 
"Captain  Rogers  is  dead."  The  scene  that  followed 
biffles  description.     A  wail  of  sorrow   burst  from  every 

C-  ^1 


112  Cowper  continued. 


lip,  and,  while  some  fainted,  the  sound  of  weeping  was 
heard  everywhere.  In  the  subsequent  meetings  a  num- 
ber referred  to  the  death-scene,  as  the  means  of  their 
awakening  and  conversion. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  Captain  Rogers  had  frequently 
said  to  the  chorister  of  the  church :  "  When  I  lie  on  my 
death-bed,  I  want  you  to  come  and  sing  over  me  the 
hymn,  "There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood." 

Although  at  the  time,  he  asked  for  the  singing  of  the 
hymn  at  this  meeting,  he  had  no  idea  of  his  death  being 
at  hand,  yet  it  so  happened,  that  under  the  sound  of  the 
singing  of  this  hymn,  led  by  this  chorister^  he  passed  away 
to  mingle  his  praises  with  the  singing  hosts  on  high. 

Captain  Rodgers  was  converted  on  his  ship,  while  out 
at  sea,  and  so  anxious  was  he  to  confess  Christ  at  once, 
that,  a  Baptist  minister  being  at  hand,  he  had  his  yawl- 
boat  lowered  in  the  China  sea,  and  using  it  as  a  baptistery, 
he  was  baptised  in  the  presence  of  his  crew,  and  of  the 
British  fleet  that  was  anchored  near  by. 

He  was  truly  a  veteran  of  the  cross,  and  died  with  the 
ftill  armor  on.  How  literally  he  illustrated  the  sentiment 
of  the  lines  of  the  hymn  on  which  he  had  been  speaking, 
and  to  which  he  had  referred  as  his  last  utterance  ou 
earth : — 

"E'er  since  by  faith,  I  saw  the  stream 
Thy  flowing  wounds  supply, 
Redeeming  love  has  been  my  theme, 
And  shall  be  till  I  die." 

Alike  occurrence  took  place  with  Rev.  Dr.  Beaumont. 
He  had  just  announced  with  quivering  lips  the  verse: — 

"The  lowest  step  above  thy  seat 
Rises  too  high  for  Gabriel's  feet 
In  vain,  the  tall  archangel  tries. 
To  reach  thine  height  with  wondering  eyes." 

While  it  was  being  sung,  he  sank  to  the  floor  and  died. 


Comperes  hymn. 


113 


"The  dying  tliief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day  ; 
And  there  have  I,  as  vile  as  he, 
Washed  all  my  sins  away.  " 


fHILE  preaching  in  Maryland,  I  was  told  of  a  thief 
who  was  then  and  there  rejoicing  that  the  "fount- 
ain" was  still  open  ''in  his  day." 

The  evening  before  the  execution  of  a  murderer,  a  de- 
voted Christian  lady  felt  herself  constrained  to  prolong 
her  devotions  on  behalf  of  the  culprit,  before  retiring. 

In  her  importunate  prayer  she  mentioned  thieves  and 
similar  characters  as  those  for  whom  the  atoning  blood 
had  been  efficacious  in  apostolic  times.  Her  soul  was  so 
stirred  with  sympathy,  that  she  could  not  get  asleep  for 
a  long  time  after  going  to  bed. 

Toward  midnight  she  thought  she  heard  a  noise  be- 
neath her  bed.  At  length  she  saw  the  head  of  a  thief  ap- 
pearing at  the  foot.  Being  alone  and  not  near  any  of  the 
family  to  whom  she  could  call  for  help,  she  closed  her 
eyes  in  silent  prayer,  and  calmly  trusted  in  divine  aid 
for  protection. 

The  thief  trod  softly  along  the  bed-side.  To  see  if 
she  was  asleep,  he  bent  over  her  pillow,  coming  so  near 
that  she  felt  his  breath  upon  her  face. 

He  then  quietly  descended  the  stairway  and  endeavored 
to  get  out,  but  he  could  not  find  the  key  to  the  door,  as 
that  was  kept  in  a  secret  place. 

While  he  was  engaged  in  trying  to  escape,  this  Chris- 
tian heroine  awoke  a  brother,  and  told  him  that  there  was 
a  thief  in  the  house  who  was  striving  to  get  out. 

Getting  a  lamp,  they  descended  the  stair-steps,  when 
the  light  fell  upon  the  face  of  the  intruder,  who  was 
a  man  from  the  village  whom  they  knew.  He  confessed 
that  he  came  there  to  steal.  Being  unable  to  meet  a  note, 
due  the  next  day,  of  three  hundred  dollars,  he  knew  that 


L 


W 


114 


Cowper's  hymn  illustrated. 


C 


this  lady  had  that  amount.  Supposing  she  kept  it  in 
lier  bed-chamber,  he  concealed  himself  under  her  bed, 
intending  to  search  for  it  when  she  was  asleep.  But  her 
])rayer  for  thieves  so  completely  disarmed  him,  and  so 
convicted  him  of  sin,  that  he  resolved  to  seek  pardon  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

After  hearing  his  confession,  the  sister  was  so  impressed 
with  the  genuineness  of  his  contrition,  that  she  told  her 
brother  to  get  the  money  and  loan  him  the  amount 
needed.  He  afterward  not  only  repaid  the  money,  but 
became  an  earnest  Christian,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit 
was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  of  the  village. 

fEV.  JOHN  WESLEY  was  once  stopped  by  a  high- 
wayman, who  demanded  his  money.  After  he  had 
given  it  to  him,  he  called  him  back,  and  said :  "Let 
me  speak  one  word  to  you ;  the  time  may  come  when  you 
may  regret  the  course  of  life  in  which  you  are  engaged. 
Remember  this:  The  l>loocl  of  Jesus  Christ  deanseth  from 
all  sin.''  He  said  no  more,  and  they  parted.  Many 
years  afterwards,  when  he  was  leaving  a  church  in  M'hicli 
he  had  been  preaching,  a  person  came  up  and  asked  if 
he  remembered  being  waylaid  at  such  a  time,  referring 
to  the  above  circumstances.  Mr.  Wesley  replied  that 
he  recollected  it.  "I,"  said  the  individual,  "was  that 
man ;  that  single  verse  on  that  occasion  was  the  means 
of  a  total  change  in  my  life  and  habits.  I  have  long 
since  been  attending  the  house  of  God  and  the  Word  of 
God,  and  I  hope  I  am  a  Christian. " 


%^FTER  giving  a  black  catalogue  of  criminals,  among 
'^  whom  were  thieves,  drunkards,  &c.,  tlie  apostle  adds: 
"such  were  some  of  you,  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye 
are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  " 


W 


Cowper's  hymn  illustrated.  115 


Calling  upon  a  home  missionary,  a  man  remarked : 
"Sir,  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me,  but  I  have  been  leading 
a  very  bad  life,  and  I  want  to  give  it  up.  I  want  to 
work  for  my  living  in  future.  I  was  put  in  jail  for 
stealing.  A  Bible  reader  used  to  visit  and  talk  to  us. 
AVhile  I  was  there  I  thought  over  what  he  said,  and  de- 
termined that  when  I  got  out  I  would  try  and  get  a  liv- 
ing honestly."  While  the  missionary  assured  him  of 
his  aid,  he  also  taught  him  that  as  long  as  he  was  Christ- 
less  he  was  helpless  in  his  good  resolutions. 

The  thief  afterward  attended  upon  the  preaching  of 
the  Word,  became  deeply  penitent,  and  soon  realized 
the  "peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding." 

He  wished  to  state  publicly  Avhat  grace  had  done  for 
him,  but  it  was  thought  best  for  him  to  wait  awhile,  and 
was  so  advised.  Being  absent  from  public  worship  on  the 
next  Sunday,  it  was  ascertained  that  he  was  dangerously  ill. 
The  missionary  found  him  lying  on  a  miserable  bed  in  a 
garret  in  great  pain,  expressed  sympathy  for  him, 
and  then  alluded  to  the  sufferings  of  Jesus.  "Yes," 
said  he,  "that's  the  wonder  when  I  think  that  he  suffered 
for  such  as  I — for  such  a  wretch  as  I. " 

Being  removed  to  a  hospital  to  undergo  an  operation, 
he  soon  afterwards  sank  away.     As  the  hymn — 
'■There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood,  " 

was  repeated  to   him,    he   was  greatly  moved  by   the 

second  vei'se: — 

"  The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day, 
And  there  have  I,  though  vile  as  he, 
»         Washed  all  my  sins  away.  " 

"Yes,"  he  exclaimed,  "/  am  that  thief, — it  meant 
me, — it  was  written  for  me, — that's  just  me. " 


^  gJ 


116  William  Cowper: 


The  Diversions  of  Cowper. 


Q 


X  the  sliattered  condition  of  Cowper's  nervous  system, 
^  he  found  it  necessary  to  seek  some  recreations  with 
which  to  occupy  his  active  mind,  and  to  turn  it  out 
of  the  channels  of  gloom  and  despondency  into  which  it 
was  so  apt  to  run.  He  says:  "It  is  no  easy  matter  for 
the  owner  of  a  mind  like  mine  to  divert  it  from  sad 
subjects,  and  fix  it  upon  such  as  may  administer  to  its 
amusement. " 

Some  friends  in  hearty  sympathy  with  him  on  account 
of  his  mental  depression,  presented  him  with  some  tame 
hares,  to  which  he  became  greatly  attached.  They  grew 
up  under  his  oversight  and  became  objects  of  great  in- 
terest for  eleven  years.  He  has  written  beautifully  of 
them,  both  in  poetry  and  prose,  in  Latin  and  English. 
Of  the  two,  he  named  Bess  and  Puss,  he  says : — 

"I  always  admitted  them  into  the  parlor  after  supper, 
when,  the  carpet  affording  their  feet  a  firm- hold,  they 
would  frisk,  and  bound,  and  play  a  thousand  gambols, 
in  which  Bess,  being  remarkably  strong  and  fearless, 
was  always  superior  to  the  rest,  and  j^roved  himself  the 
Vestris  of  the  party.  One  evening,  the  cat,  being  in  the 
room,  had  the  hardiness  to  pat  Bess  upon  the  cheek,  an 
indignity  which  he  resented  by  drumming  upon  her  back 
with  such  violence  that  the  cat  was  happy  to  escape  from 
under  his  paws,  and  hide  herself. 

"Puss  grew  presently  familiar,  would  leap  into  my  lap, 
raise  himself  upon  his  hinder  feet,  and  bite  the  hair  from 
my  temples.  He  would  suffer  me  to  take  him  up,  and 
to  carry  him  about  in  my  arms ;  and  has  more  than  once 
fallen  fast  asleep  upon  my  knee.  He  was  ill  three  days, 
during  which  time  I  nursed  him,  kept  him  apart  from 
his  fellows,  that  they  might  not  molest  him,  (for,  like 
many  other  wild  animals,  they  persecute  one  of  their  own 


COWPER  AND  HIS  HABKS. 


Diversions  of  Cowper.  119 


species  that  is  sick, )  and,  by  constant  care,  and  trying 
him  with  a  variety  of  herbs,  restored  him  to  perfect  health. 
N^o  creature  could  be  more  grateful  than  my  patient  after 
his  recovery;  a  sentiment  which  he  most  significantly 
expressed  by  licking  my  hand,  first  the  back  of  it,  then 
the  palm,  then  every  finger  separately,  then  between  all 
the  fingers,  as  if  anxious  to  leave  no  part  of  it  unsaluted: 
a  ceremony  which  he  never  performed  but  once  again, 
upon  a  similar  occasion." 

Rabbits,  guinea-pigs,  dogs,  canaries,  goldfinches,  a 
magpie,  a  jay,  and  a  starling  were  added  to  his  house- 
hold treasures.  In  addition  to  these  means  of  recreation 
he  tried  his  hand  at  sketching,  and  "drew  mountains, 
valleys,  woods,  streams,  ducks,  and  dabchicks."  ''I 
admire  them,"  he  wrote,  "and  Mrs.  Unwin  admires  them, 
and  her  praise  and   my  praise  are  fame  enough  for  me." 

But  notwithstanding  these  various  efforts  to  allure 
his  mind  away  from  the  return  of  that  midnight 
of  mental  gloom,  its  shadows  began  again  to  deepen 
around  him. 

In  January  1773,  soon  after  Cowper  had  penned  his 
last  Olney  Hymn,  his  sad  depression  culminated  in  an 
attack  of  insanity.  He  afterwards  in  a  measure  recovered 
his  health,  but  while  he  became  sane  on  every  other  sub- 
ject, yet,  as  long  as  life  lasted,  suffered  under  the  mono- 
mania that  he  was  rejected  of  God. 

His  judicious  friend,  Mrs.  Unwin,  sought  now  to 
occupy  his  attention  by  writing  poetry.  He  says :  "  When 
I  can  find  no  other  occupation,  I  think;  and  when  I 
think,  I  am  apt  to  do  it  in  rhyme."  To  this  attempted 
diversion  the  world  is  indebted  for  those  unrivalled  poems 
that  followed  each  other  in  such  rapid  succession  and  that 
have  encircled   his  name  with  so  much  fame  and  honor. 

Southey  describes  him  as  "  the  most  popular  poet  of  his 
generation,  and  the  best  English  letter-writer." 


120  Origin  of  Coivpcr^s  hymn. 


Origin  of  "God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way." 

fONTGOMERY  describes  this  hymn  of  Cowper's, 
as  a  "lyric  of  high  tone  and  character,  and  rendered 
awfully  interesting  by  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  written, — in  the  light  of  departing  reason." 

Its  original  title,  "Light  shining  out  of  Darkness, "  is 
sup})osed  to  have  had  reference  to  its  singular  origin. 

It  is  said,  "  When  under  the  influence  of  the  fits  of 
mental  derangement  to  which  he  was  subject,  he  most 
unhappily,  but  firmly  believed  that  the  divine  will  was 
that  he  should  drown  himself  in  a  particular  part  of  the 
river  Ouse,  some  two  or  three  ■  miles  from  his  residence 
at  Olney.  One  evening  he  called  for  a  post-chaise  from 
one  of  the  hotels  in  the  town,  and  ordered  the  driver  to 
take  him  to  that  spot,  which  he  readily  undertook  to  do 
as  he  well  knew  the  place. 

"  On  this  occasion,  however,  several  hours  were  con- 
sumed in  seeking  it,  and  utterly  in  vain.  The  man  was 
at  length  most  reluctantly  compelled  to  admit  that  he 
had  entirely  lost  his  road.  The  snare  was  thus  broken ; 
Cowper  escaped  the  temptation;  returned  to  his  home, 
and  immediately  sat  down  and  wrote  the  hymn,"  so  de- 
scriptive of  God's  wonder-working  providence,  and  that 
has  proved  a  beacon  light  to  many  who  have  wandered 
in  darkness. 

A  somewhat  similar  providence  is  reported  in  the  life 
of  Augustine  of  whom  it  is  said  that  having  occasion  to 
preach  at  a  distant  town,   he  took  with  him  a  guide  to 
direct  him  in  the  way.     This  man  by  some  unaccount- 
able means,  mistook  the  road,  and  fell  into  a  by-path. 

It  afterwards  proved  that  in  this  way  the  preacher's 
life  was  saved,  as  his  enemies,  aware  of  his  journey,  had 
placed  themselves  in  the  proper  road  with  a  design  to 
kill  him. 


r 


Cowper's  hymns,  continued.  121 


"  Can  a  woman's  tender  care 
Cease  towards  the  child  she  bare?" 


fOWPER    knew    of  a   "mother's    tender  care"   by 
sweet  experience.     These  lines  are  in  his  hymn : — 

"  Hark,  my  soul !  it  is   the  Lord,  " 

Though  he  lost  his  mother  when  only  six  years  of 
age,  yet  forty  years  after,  he  wrote,  "  that  not  a  week 
passes,  (perhaps  I  might  Avitli  equal  veracity,  say  a  day,) 
in  which  I  do  not  think  of  her ;  such  was  the  impression 
her  tenderness  made  upon  me,  though  the  opportunity 
she  had  for  showing  it  was  so  short. " 

In  1790,  he  received  the  gift  of  his  mother's  picture, 
on  which  he  wrote  a  touching  poem.  The  extract  we 
give  will  show  the  impress  of  a  mother's  love, — 

"  My  mother !  when  I  learned  that  thou  wast  dead, 
Sav,  wa.-t  »hou  conscious  of  the  tears  I  shed? 
HoVer'd  thy  spirit  o'er  thy  sorrowing  son, 
^Vretch  even  then,  life's  journey  jus    b'jgiv.i? 
Perhaps  thou  gavest  me,  though  unfelt,  a  kiss; 
Perhaps  a  tear,  if  souls  can  weep  in  bliss — 
Ah,  that  maternal  smile  !  it  answers — Yes. 
I  heard  the  bell  toll'd  on  thy  burial  day, 
I  saw  the  hearse  that  bore  thee  slow  away, 
And,  turning  from  my  nursury  window,  drew 
A  long,  long  sigh,  and  wept  a  last  adieu  ! 
Bat  was  it  such  ?     It  was.     Where  thou  art  gone 
Adieus  iind  farewells  are  a  sound  unknown. 
Way  1  but  meet  thee  on  that  peaceful  shore. 
The  parting  word  shall  pass  my  lips  no  more  ! 
Thy  maidens,  grieved  themselves  at  my  concern, 
Oft  gave  me  promise  of  thy  quick  return. 
What  ardently  I  wish'd,  1  long  believed. 
And,  disappointed  still,  was  still  deceived. 
By  expectation  every  day  beguiled, 
Dupe  of  to-morrow  even  from  a  child. 
Thus  many  a  sad  to-morrow  came  and  went, 
Till,  all  my  stock  of  infant  sorrows  spent, 
I  learned  at  last  submission  to  my  lot. 
But,  though  I  less  deplored  thee  ne'er  forgot.  " 


122  Samuel  Davies. 


Author  of  "Lord!  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine." 

fEV.  SAMUEL  DAVIES,  D.  D.  was  the  author  of 
a  number  of  choice  hymns.  He  was  born  in  Dela- 
ware, Noyember,  3,  1724.  His  devoted  Christian  moth- 
er, believing  that  he  had  been  given  in  answer  to  her 
earnest  prayers,  named  him  Samuel. 

At  fifteen  he  became  an  earnest  Christian,  and  began 
his  preparation  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  At  twenty- 
two  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  soon  after  entered 
upon  a  field  of  labor  in  Virginia,  which  extended  over 
several  counties..  Great  success  attended  his  arduous 
and  self-denying  labors,  so  that  in  three  years  time  one 
of  his  feeblest  churches  increased  to  a  membership  of 
three  hundied. 

He  was  described  as  a  "model  of  the  most  impressive 
oratory.  As  his  personal  appearance  was  venerable,  yet 
benevolent  and  mild,  he  could  address  his  auditory, 
either  with  the  most  commanding  authority,  or  with  the 
most  melting  tenderness.  He  seldom  preached  without 
creating  some  visible  emotion  in  great  numbers  present." 

In  1759,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  college  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  as  successor  to  the  celebrated 
Jonathan  Edwards.  Six  years  previously,  he  had  vis- 
ited England,  and  received  large  benefactions  on  behalf 
of  this  institution.  His  sermons  abound  in  striking 
thoughts  and  richest  imagery.  They  were  issued  in 
three   volumes,  to  which  was  appended  his  poems." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1761,  he  preached  on  the 
words,  "  This  year  thou  shalt  die,"  A  month  latter,  he 
himself  was  a  corpse.  He  was  but  thirty-six  when  he 
was  laid  in  his  coffin.  As  his  venerable  mother  gazed 
upon  him,  lying  there,  she  said:  "There  is  the  son  of  my 
prayers,  and  my  hopes — my  only  son — my  only  earthly 
I       support.     But  there  is  the  will  of  God,  and  I  am  satisfied." 


Samuel  Davies'  Jii/nin. 


123 


Singing-  in  Time  of  Peril. 


0\Y  impressive  was  tlie  singing  of  one  of 
the  hymns  of  Davies,  as  narrated  in  the 
Trophies  of  Song  : — 

"A  Christian  captain,  who  had  a 
Christian  crew,  was  caught  near  a  rocky- 
shore  in  a  driving  storm.  They  were 
being  driven  rapidly  toward  tlie  rocks, 
when  he  ordered  them  to  'cast  anchor.' 
"They  did  so,  but  it  broke.  He  or- 
dered them  to  cast  the  second.  They 
did  so,  but  it  dragged.  He  then  or- 
dered them  to  cast  the  third  and  last 
"  They  cast  it  while  the  captain  went 
down  to  his  room  to  i)ray.  He  fell  on 
his  knees  and  said,  '  O  Lord,  this  vessel 
is  thine,  these  noble  men  on  deck  are 
thine.  If  it  be  more  for  thy  glory  that 
our  vessel  be  wrecked  on  the  rocks,  and 
we  go  down  in  the  sea,  'thy  will  be 
done. '  But  if  it  be  more  for  thy  glory  that  we  live  to 
Mork  for  thee,  then  hold  the  anchor. '  Calmly  he  rose 
to  return  to  the  deck,  and  as  he  went,  he  heard  a  chorus 
of  voices  sino;ing : — 

"  '  Lord,  I  am  thine  ! ' 
It  seemed  like  an  angel  song.  Reaching  the  deck,  he 
found  his  brave  men  standing  with  their  hands  on  the 
cable,  that  they  might  feel  the  first  giving  of  the  anchor, 
on  Avhich  hung  their  lives,  and  looking  calmly  on  the 
raging  of  the  elements,  as  they  sung  '  with  the  spirit  and 
with  the  understanding  also : — ' 

"  '  Lord,  I  am  thine  !' 
"The  anchor  held  till  the  storm  was  past,  and  they 
anchored  safe  within  the  bay.  " 


-^ 


124 


David  Dcnhains  hymn. 


*■  Home,  sweet,  sweet  home.  " 


||EV.   DAVID  DENH AM    a  Baptist    minister  in 
^  England  issued   in  1837,    the  well    known    hymn 
of  "Sweet  Honie/'commencing, 

"Mid  scenes  of  confusion  and  creature  complaints." 

He  wrote  this  and  much  of  his  poetry  for  the  religious 
mao-azines.  His  field  of  ministerial  labor  was  Margate, 
London,  and  Cheltenham.  Having  in  early  life  been 
called  to  his  "sweet  home"  above  he  need  no  longer 
sing  in  the  language  of  his  hymn : — 

"I  sigh  from  this  body  of  sin  to  be  free, 
Which  hinders  my  joy  and  communion  Tvith  thee  ; 
Though  now  my  temptation  like  billows  may  foam, 
All,  all  will  be  peace,  when  I'm  with  thee  at  home. 
Home,  home,  sweet,  sweet  home  ; 
Prepare  me  dear  Saviour,  for  glory,  my  home.'' 

The  tune  of  "Sweet  Home"  was  written  by  Sir  Henry 
Rowley  Bishop  in  1829,  and  the  songof  "Sweet  Home" 
by  J.  Howard  Payne  in  1825.  He  sold  it  to  Charles 
Kemble  for  30  pounds.  When  it  was  first  sung  in  pub- 
lic by  Miss  Tree  it  so  fascinated  a  wealthy  gentleman 
of  London  that  he  made  her  the  offer  of  his  hand  and 
fortune,  which  were  accepted.  Paine  was  a  homeless 
wanderer. 

"  How  often, "  said  he,  "  have  I  been  in  the  heart  of 
Paris,  Berlin  and  London,  or  some  other  city,  and  heard 
j)ersons  playing  'Sweet  Home,'  without  a  shilling  to  buy 
the  next  meal,  or  a  place  to  lay  my  head.  Tiie  world 
has  literally  sung  my  song  until  every  heart  is  fiimiliar 
with  its  melody.  Yet  I  have  been  a  poor  wanderer  from 
my  boyhood.  My  country  has  turned  me  ruthlessly 
from  office,  and  in  my  old  age  I  have  to  sul)mit  to  hu- 
miliation for  my  daily  bread." 

He  died  at  Tunis  while  acting;  as  U.  S.  Consul. 


r 


'^ Sweet  home^'  illustrated.  125 


Midnight  Echo  of  "Home,  sweet,  sweet  home." 

jffT  was  our  privilege  to  hear,  from  the  lips  of  one  who 
^  is  now  a  popular  pastor  of  one  of  tiie  largest  churches 
in  Philadelphia,  the  following  interesting  statement, 
relating  to  the  echo  of  a  hymn  that  proved  to  be  the 
means  of  his  salvation.  Having  run  away  as  a  prodigal 
from  his  father's  home  in  Virginia  when  a  young  man, 
he  had  had  little  regard  for  the  broken  hearted  parents 
that  he  had  forsaken,  until  one  Christmas  night,  when 
in  the  fourth  story  bed-room  of  a  hotel  on  Chestnut  street 
Philadelphia,  he  was  awakened  by  the  chimes  of  bells  of 
an  Episcopal  church  near  by.  The  tune  of  "  Home, 
sweet,  sweet  home,"  was  being  played.  As  in  the  quiet 
of  the  midnight  hour  the  sound  of  this  hymn  floated  over 
the  city,  thoughts  of  his  forsaken  home  began  to  echo 
through  the  chambers  of  his  soul.  A  father's  plaintive 
voice,  and  a  mother's  streaming  eyes  seemed  to  beckon 
him  home  again.  His  pillow  soon  became  wet  with  tears 
of  jienitence.  At  the  repetition  of  the  tune  he  could  no 
longer  remain  in  bed.  His  heart  was  now  yearning  for 
"Home,  sweet,  sweet  home, "  and  soon  his  hands  Avere 
packing  up  to  start  for  home,  and  not  long  after  his  feet 
M'ere  hastening  down  the  flight  of  stairs,  up  Chestnut 
street,  down  Broad  street,  and  at  the  Baltimore  depot 
betook  the  first  train  of  cars  for  home. 

How  many  similar  prodigals  would  start  for  the  heav- 
enly land,  if  they  would  wake  from  their  slumbers  long 
enough  to  listen  to  some  of  those  sweet  echoes  that  tell 
us  of  the  soul's  "  sweet,  sweet  home.  " 

"  My  Father's  house  on  high, — 
Home  of  my  soul, — how  near, 
At  times,  to  faith's    farseeing  eye, 
Thy  golden  gales  appear  !  " 


m 


126  Dickerson^s  hymn. 


C 


Singing  The  Heart  Open. 


f  Presbyterian  minister,    an  American  by   birth,  bnt 
of  Scottisli  parentage,  hap2)ening  to  be  in  New  Or- 
leans, was  asked  to  visit  an  old  Scottish  soldier  who 
had  sickened,  and  was  conv-eyed  to  the  hospital. 

On  entering  and  announcing  his  errand,  the  Scotch- 
man told  him,  in  a  surly  tone,  that  he  desired  none  of 
his  visits — that  he  knew  how  to  die  without  the  aid  of  a 
priest.  In  vain  he  informed  him  that  he  was  no  priest, 
but  a  Presbyterian  minister,  come  to  read  him  a  portion 
of  the  Word  of  God,  and  to  speak  to  him  about  eternity. 
The  Scotchman  doggedly  refused  to  hold  any  conversa- 
tion with  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  take  his  leave. 

Next  day,  however,  he  called  again,  thinking  that  the 
reflection  of  the  man  on  his  own  rudeness,  would  prepare 
the  way  for  a  better  reception.  But  his  manner  and  tone 
were  equally  rude  and  repulsive ;  and  at  length  he  turn- 
ed himself  in  bed,  with  his  face  to  the  wall,  as  if  deter- 
mined to  hear  nothing,  and  relent  nothing. 

The  minister  bethought  himself,  as  a  last  resourse,  of 
the  hymn  well  known  in  Scotland,  the  composition  of 
David  Dickson,  minister  of  Irvine,  beginning,  "O  mo- 
ther dear,  Jerusalem,  when  shall  I  come  to  thee?"  which 
his  Scottish  mother  had  taught  him  to  sing  to  the  tune 
of  Dundee.    He  be2:an  to  sino;  his  mother's  hymn. 

The  soldier  listened  for  a  few  moments  m  suence,  but 
gradually  turning  himself  round,  with  a  relaxed  counte- 
nance, and  a  tear  in  his  eye;  inquired,  "Who  taught  you 
that?"  "My  mother,  "  replied  the  minister.  "And  so 
did  mine,"  rejoined  the  now  softened  soldier,  whose  heart 
was  opened  by  the  recollections  of  infancy  and  of  country  ; 
and  he  now  gave  a  willing  ear  to  the  man  that  found  the 
key  to  his  heart. 


Two  incidents.  127 


Conquered  By  Song. 


^  N  Louisiana,  over  a  centiir\^  ago,  itinerant  Methodist 

^  preachers  fared  roughly.  A  travelling  minister  %vas 

one  evening  reduced  to  the  very  verge  of  starvation. 

He  had  spent  the  preceding  night  in  a  swamp,  and 
had  taken  no  food  for  thirty -six  hours,  when  he  reached 
a  plantation.  He  entered  the  house  and  asked  for  food 
and  lodging.  The  mistress  of  the  house,  a  widow  with 
several  daughters  and  negroes,  refused  him. 

He  stood  warming  himself  by  the  fire,  a  few  minutes, 
and  began  singing  a  hymn  commencing, — 

'•  Peace  mj  soul,  thou  needest  not  fear; 
The  Great  Provider  still  is  near.'" 

He  sang  the  whole  hymn,  and  ,M-hen  he  looked  around 
they  were  all  in  tears.  He  was  forthwith  invited  to 
stay  not  a  single  night,  but  a  wdiole  week,  with  them. 

Mr.  Bushnell  of  Utica,  X.  Y.  had  occasion  to  stop 
at  a  hotel  in  a  neighboring  town.  Some  twenty  men 
were  in  the  bar  room  in  which  temperance  was  being  de- 
nounced as  the  work  of  priests  and  politicians. 

Mr.  Bushnell,  finding  it  impossible  to  stem  the  current 
of  abuse  by  an  appeal  to  their  reason,  proposed  singing  a 
temperance  song-,  and  accordingly  commenced  the 
"  Stanch  Teetotaller.  "  On  glancing  around  the  room 
after  he  had  concluded,  he  observed  the  tear  trickling 
down  the  cheek  of  almost  every  man. 

The  song  carried  their  thoughts  back  to  their  families 
and  firesides,  surrounded  as  they  once  were  with  plenty 
but  now  with  poverty  and  disgrace.  Those  hardened 
men  could  but  acknowledge  its  truth  by  tears. 

Soon  af.er  the  landlord  came  in,  and  he  repeated  it  for 
his  special  benefit.  After  Mr.  Bushnell  had  concluded, 
he  grasped  him  by  the  hand,  and  exclaimed,  "  /  will 
never  sell  another  glass  of  liquor  as  long  as  I  live.  " 


r 


1/ 


128  Philip.  Doddridge. 


Author  of  "Grace, 'tis  a  charming  sound." 

fHIS  is  one  among  the  three  hundred  hymns  penned  by 
Philip  Doddridge,  T>,  D.,  widely  known  by  his 
commentary  on  the  Scriptures,  the  "  Family  Exposi- 
tor," and  as  the  author  of  "The  Rise  and  Progress  of 
Religion  in  the  Soul  ''  This  has  been  so  widely  circu- 
lated and  translated  into  so  many  lang-uages,  that  it  has 
been  designated  as  the  most  useful  book  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  It  was  written  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Watts, 
whom  he"  regarded  as  one  of  his  warmest  friends. 

Doddridge  was  born  in  London,  June  26,  1702. 

Of  his  early  life  his  biographer  says:  "At  his  birth  he 
shewed  sc  little  sign  of  life  that  he  was  laid  aside  as  dead. 
Eat  one  of  the  attendants,  thinking  she  perceived  some 
motion,  or  breath,  took  that  necessary  care  of  him,  on 
which,  in  those  tender  circumstances,  the  feeble  frame  of 
life  depended,  which  was  so  near  expiring  as  soon  as  it 
was  kindled. "  He  was  the  twentieth  child  of  a  mother, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  an  exiled  Bohemian  clergyman, 
the  Rev.  John  Bauman.  The  mother  had  imbibed  the 
devoted  Christian  spirit  of  her  father,  of  whom,  it  is  said, 
that  for  conscience's  and  Christ's  sake,  he  left  Prague  in 
Bohemia  about  1626,  Giving  up  a  large  estate  and 
friends  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  withdrew  on  foot 
from  his  country,  clad  as  a  j)easant,  "carrying  with  him 
nothing  but  a  hundred  broad  pieces  of  gold,  ]>laited  in  a 
leathern  girdle,  and  a  Bible  of  Luther's  translation." 

Doddridge  counted  it  a  great  honor  to  have  descended 
from  these  suifering  saints  of  Christ. 

His  mother  taught  him  the  history  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  before  lie  could  read,  by  the  assistance 
of  some  Dutch  tiles  in  the  room  where  they  commonly 
met.  As  these  early  impressions  siiaped  his  destiny,  and 
were  so  valuable  to  him  in  after  life,  he  frequently  rec- 


UODUKlDlili  S    MOTIIKU  TEACHING   HIM. 


Philip  Doddridge.  131 


commended  to  parents  to  imitate  her  example.  With 
sucli  a  mother's  training,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  is  said 
that  while  attending  grammar  sehool  at  Kingston,  the 
one  previously  taught  by  his  grandfather  Bauman,  from 
his  tenth  to  his  thirteenth  year  "he  was  remarkable  for 
his  piety  and  diligent  application  to  learning."  His  pa- 
rents dying  while  he  was  young  he  could  afterwards  say, 
when  pleading  for  orphans,  "I  know  the  heart  of  an 
orphan ,  having  been  deprived  of  both  of  my  })arents  at 
an  age  in  which  it  might  reasonably  be  supposed  I  should 
be  most  sensible  of  such  a  loss. " 

In  his  orphanage  he  found  it  difficult  to  pursue  his 
studies  for  the  ministry.  A  tempting  offer  was  made 
of  assistance  in  the  study  of  law.  He  was  to  return  an 
answer  at  a  certain  time.  As  the  period  drew  near  he 
devoted  one  morning  to  seek  divine  direction,  and  while 
in  the  act  of  prayer  the  post-man  called  at  the  door  with 
a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Clark,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  in  which  he  said  that  he  had  heard  of  his  dif- 
ficulties, and  offered  to  give  him  the  needed  aid  to  fit 
him  for  the  ministry.  This  he  looked  upon  as  an  answer 
from  heaven,  "and"  says  he,  "while  I  live  I  shall  always 
adore  so  seasonable  an  interposition  of  divine  Providence." 

When  just  twenty  years  old  he  centered  the  ministry. 
PI  is  first  sermon  was  greatly  honored  of  God  in  the  con- 
version of  two  souls.  It  was  delivered  at  Hinckley,  on 
the  text,  "If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
let  him  be  Anathema,  Maran  atha. " 

His  first  charge  was  at  Kibworth.  In  1730  he  took 
charge  of  a  church,  and  started  an  academy  at  North- 
ampton. This  was  designed  for  the  training  of  young 
men  .for  the  ministry.  About  one  hundred  and  twenty 
of  his  students  entered  the  sacred  office.  Here  he  spent 
the  rest  of  his  life,  attending  to  his  collegiate  and  church 
duties,  and  writing  his  numerous  and  vokiminous  works. 


li 


132  Humor  of  Doddi^idge. 


Doddridge  is  described  as  a  man  "  above  the  middle 
stature,  extremely  thin  and  slender.  His  sprightliness 
and  vivacity  of  countenance  and  manner  commanded 
general  attention  in  the  pulpit  and  private  circles.  Mr. 
Hervey,  speaking  of  spending  a  night  with  him  at 
Northampton,  says:  "I  never  spent  a  more  delightful 
evening,  or  saw  one  that  seemed  to  make  nearer  ap- 
proaches to  heaven.  A  gentleman  of  great  worth  and 
rank  in  the  town,  invited  us  to  his  house,  and  gave  us 
an  elegant  treat;  but  how  mean  was  his  jn'ovision,  how 
coarse  his  delicacies,  compared  with  the  fruit  of  my  friend's 
lips! — they  dropped  as  the  honey-comb,  and  were  a  well 
of  life." 

Doddridge  possessed  a  vein  of  humor  that  would  some- 
times reveal  itself  through  his  pen.  His  daughter  having 
had  a  thorn  j)ierce  her  foot  one  day,  he  gent  her  these 
lines : — 

"  Oft  I  have  heard  the  ancient  sages  say 
The  j)ath  of  virtue  is  a  thorny  way  : 
If  so,  dear  Celia,  we  may  surely  know 
Which  path  it  is  you  tread,  which  way  it  is  you  go. " 

Tin's  was  the  little  daughter  who  was  asked,  how  it 
was  that  everybody  loved  her,  when  she  answered:  "I 
know  not,"   "unless  it  be  that  I  love  every  body." 

To  one  of  his  pupils,  whose  weak  imagination  had  led 
him  to  think  that  he  had  invented  a  machine  by  which 
he  could  fly  to  the  moon,  he  sent  these  lines: — 

"  And  will  Volatio  leave  this  world  so  soon 
To  fly  to  his  own  native  seat,  the  moon? 
'Twill  stand,  however,  in  some  little  stead 
That  he  sets  out  with  such  an  empty  head. " 

Dr.  Johnson,  who  had  been  styled  "the  Old  King  of 
Critics,"  said  that  the  following  lines,  \vritten  by  Dod- 
dridge on  his  family  arms,  Dum  vivimus  vivamus,  was 
the  finest  epigram  in  the  English  language: — 


r 


IPMHILniP  IO)®Bl©mEIE)©J^,E)oID), 


Doddridge  continued.  135 


"  'Live  while  you  live,'  the  epicure  would  say, 
'And  seize  the  pleasures  of  the  present  day.' 
'Live  while  you  live,'  the  sacred  preacher  cries, 
'And  give  to  God  each  moment  as  it  tlies.' 
Lord,  in  my  view  let  both  united  be : 
I  live  in  pleasure  when  I  live  to  thee. ' 

Of  this  "pleasure,"  he  made  frequent  mention  in  his  diary, 
and  letters.     After  a  season  of  sickness,  he  wrote: — 

"  It  is  impossible  to  express  the  support  and  comfort, 
which  God  gave  me  on  my  sick-bed.  His  promises  wers 
my  continual  feast.  They  seemed,  as  it  were,  to  be  all 
united  in  one  stream  of  glory,  and  poured  into  my  breast. 
When  I  thought  of  dying,  it  sometimes  made  my  very 
heart  to  leap  within  me." 

"Awake,  my  soul,  to  meet  the  day," 

was  written  by  Doddridge,  who  arose  every  morning  at 
5  o'clock.  It  was  entitled,  "A  Morning  Hymn,  to  be 
Sung  at  Awaking  and  Rising."  His  custom  was  to 
spring  out  of  bed,  while  using  the  words  of  the  sixth 
v^erse,  commencing,  "As  rising  now,"  &c.  His  Com- 
munion Hymn,  is  much  used;  the  first  stanza  reads: — 

'  My  God !  and  is  thj-  table  spread  ? 

And  does  thj'  cup  with  love  overflow? 
Thither  be  all  thy  children  led. 

And  let  them  all  its  sweetness  know." 

Of  this  "sweetness"  he  speaks  on  this  wise,  after  drinking 
from  the  cup  of  affliction,  occasioned  by  the  death  of  a 
much-loved  daughter : — 

*'  I  recollected  this  day,  at  the  Lord's  table,  that  I 
had  some  time  ago,  taken  the  cup  at  that  ordinance  with 
these  words,  'Lord,  I  take  this  cup  as  a  public  solemn 
token,  that,  having  received  so  inestimable  a  blessing  as 
this,  I  will  refuse  no  other  (!up  which  thou  shalt  put 
into  my  hands.'  God  hath  taken  me  at  my  iconl,  but  I 
will  not  retract  it;  I  repeat  it  again  with  regard  to  every 
future  cup,  much  sweetness  is  mingled  with  this  potion." 

r  9>> 


136  Doddridge' s  hymns. 


When,  through  excessive  labor,  a  deep  seated  con- 
sumption so  enfeebled  him,  that  he  was  hardly  able  to 
speak  or  move  his  dying  body,  the  following  incident  oc- 
curred that  illustrates  the  verse  of  one  of  his  best  hymns : — 

"When  death  o'er  natare  shall  prevail, 
And  all  its  power  of  language  fail, 
Joy  through  my  swimming  eyes  shall  break, 
And  mean  the  thanks  I  cannot  speak." 

''What,  in  tears  again,  my  dear  doctor,"  said  Lady 
Huntingdon,  as  she  entered  his  room  and  found  him  weep- 
ino-  over  the  Bible  lying  before  him.  "I  am  weeping, 
madam,"  he  faintly  replied,  "but  they  are  tearsof  joy  and 
comfort.  I  can  give  up  my  country,  my  friends,  my  rel- 
atives, into  the  hands  of  God;  and  as  to  myself,  I  can  as 
well  go  to  heaven  from  Lisbon,  as  from  my  (Avn  study 
at  Northampton."  This  calm  resignation  he  had  beau- 
tifully expressed  in  his  hymn : — 

"While  on  the  verge  of  life  I  stand. 
And  view  the  scene  on  eith?rhand. 
My  spirit  struggles  with  its  clay, 
And  longs  to  wing  its  flight  away. 

Where  Jesus  dwells  my  soul  would  be; 
It  faints  my  much-loved  Lord  to  see; 
Farth !  twine  no  more  about  my  heart. 
For  'tis  far  better  to  depart." 

"  ]\Iy  profuse  night-sweats  "  says  he,  "are  weakening  to 
my  frame;  but  the  most  distressing  nights  to  this  frail 
body  have  been  as  the  beginning  of  heaven  to  my  soul. 
God  hath,  as  it  were,  let  heaven  down  upon  me  in  those 
nights  of  weakness  and  waking.     Blessed  be  his  name." 

It  was  thus,  from  blissful  experience,  he  could  say,  in 

the  language  of  his  hymn : — 

"When,  at  this  distance,  Lord!  we  trace 
The  I'arious  glorii  s  of  thy  fac  , 
What  transport  pours  o'er  all  our  breast, 
And  charms  our  cares  and  woes  to  rest!" 


c 


Doddridge  continued.  137 


Doddridge  yielded  to  the  advice  of  his  friends  to  go 
to  the  warmer  climate  of  Lisbon,  for  the  winter  of  1751. 
"I  see  indeed  no  prospect  of  recovery,"  said  the  dying 
man,  "yet  my  heart  rejoiceth  in  my  God  and  my  Saviour, 
and  I  can  call  him,  under  this  faihire  of  every  thing  else, 
its  strength  and  everlasting  portion." 

"On  the  30th  of  September,"  writes  one  of  him,  "ac- 
companied by  his  anxious  wife  and  servant,  he  sailed  from 
Falmouth  ;  and,  revived  by  the  soft  breezes  and  the  ship's 
stormless  progress,  he  sat  in  liis  chair  in  the  cabin  enjoying 
the  brightest  thoughts  of  all  his  life.  'Such  transporting 
views  of  the  heavenly  world  is  my  Father  now  indulging 
me  with,  as  no  words  can  express,'  was  his  frequent  ex- 
clamation to  the  tender  ])artner  of  his  voyage." 

When  the  ship  was  gliding  up  the  Tagus,  and  Lisbon, 
with  its  groves  and  gardens  and  sunny  towers,  loomed 
up  in  the  distance  before  him,  the  enchanting  scene 
brought  vividly  before  his  mind  that  city  which  hath  foun- 
dations, of  which  he  so  sweetly  wrote  in  one  of  his 
hymns : — 

"See! — Salem's  golden  spires, 
In  beauteous  prospect,  rise, 
And  brighter  crowns  than  mortals  wear. 
Which  sparkle  through  the  skies." 

Two  weeks  after  the  vessel  landed  at  Lisbon,  he  ex- 
changed the  shores  of  time  for  the  sunny  plains  of  the 
Canaan  above.  The  "  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding" smoothed  his  dying  pillow  and  spread  such 
a  halo  of  glory  around  his  death-couch,  that  his  afflicted 
wife  could  sit  down  afterwards  and  write  to  her  children, 
saying  :  "Oh,  my  dear  children,  help  me  to  praise  Him. 
Such  supports,  such  consolations,  such  comforts  has  he 
granted,  that  my  mind  at  times  is  astonished  and  is 
ready  to  burst  into  songs  of  praise  under  its  most  exquisite 
distress." 


f 


138  Philip  Doddridge. 


Origin  of  Doddridge's  Hymns. 

tODDRIDGE  possessed  great  versatility  of  talent. 
As,  in  his  day,  there  was  not  a  great  variety  of  hymns 
adapted  to  the  different  subjects  of  discourse,  he 
■was  accustomed,  while  his  heart  was  aglow  with  the  com- 
])osition  of  his  sermon,  to  arrange  the  leading  thoughts 
in  a  hymn.  This  was  sung  at  the  close  of  his  preaching, 
and  served  to  give  emphasis  to  his  utterances,  and  to  fix 
the  truth  more  indelibly  in  the  minds  and  upon  the 
hearts  of  his  hearers.  For  instance,  after  a  sermon  on 
the  words,  "Unto  you  therefore  which  believe,  he  is 
precious, "  he  gave  out  the  sweet  hymn  he  had  prepared : — 

"Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name; 
'Tis  music  to  mine  ear: 
Fain  would  I  sou:id  it  out  so  loud, 
That  earth  and  heaven  could  hear." 

After  preaching  on  the  text,  "There  remaineth  there- 
fore a  rest  to  the  people  of  God,"  he  announced  the  fa- 
vorite Sunday  hymn,  beginning, 

"Lord  of  the  Sabbath  hear  our  vows." 
As  now  in  use,  the  hymn  is  often  made  to  commence  with 
the  second  verse : — 

"Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love, 
But  there  s  a  nobler  rest  above  ; 
To  that  our  laboring  souls  aspire 
With  ardent  hope  and  strong  desire." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  James  Hamilton,  referring  to  the.se 
hymns  thus  originated,  says: — 

"  If  amber  is  the  gum  of  fossil  trees,  fetched  up  and 
floated  off  by  the  ocean,  hymns  like  these  are  a  si)iritual 
amber.  Most  of  the  sermons  to  which  they  originally 
pertained  have  disappeared  forever;  but,  at  once  beautiful 
and  buoyant,  these  sacred  strains  are  destined  to  carry 
the  devout  emotions  of  Doddridge  to  every  shore  where  his 
Master  is  loved  and  where  his  mother-tongue  is  spoken." 


r 


Doddridge  continued.  139 


Doddrige  led  by  a  Special  Providence. 

fllEAT  events  often  turn  on  a  small  pivot.  The  field 
of  Doddridge's  great  usefulness  was  Northampton, 
yet  he  felt  quite  reluctant  to  go  there,  when  the  call 
was  first  extended,  because  of  his  sense  of  weakness  and 
unfitness. 

Among  the  means,  which  Providence  used  to  de- 
cide the  question,   he  mentions  the  following: — 

On  the  last  Sunday  in  November,  1729,  he  went  to 
Northampton  to  decline  the  call,  and,  as  he  says,  "to 
dispose  them  to  submit  to  the  will  of  God  in  events, 
which  might  be  most  contrary  to  their  views  and  inclin- 
ations." To  this  end,  he  had  arranged  a  sermon  on  the 
text,  ''And  when  he  would  not  be  persuaded,  we  ceased, 
saying, '  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.' "    But  he  adds : — 

"On  the  moi'ning  of  that  day,  an  incident  happened, 
which  affected  me  greatly.  Having  been  much  urged 
on  Saturday  evening,  and  much  impressed  wath  the  ten- 
der entreaties  of  my  friends,  I  had,  in  my  secret  devotion, 
been  spreading  the  affair  before  God,  though  as  a  thing 
almost  determined  in  the  negative;  appealing  to  Him, 
that  my  chief  reason  for  declining  the  call,  Avas  the  ap- 
prehension of  engaging  in  more  business  than  I  was  ca- 
llable of  performing,  considering  my  age,  the  largeness 
of  the  congregation,  and  that  I  had  no  prospect  of  an 
assistant.  As  soon  as  ever  this  address  ended,  I  passed 
through  a  room  of  the  house  in  which  I  lodged,  where 
a  child  was  reading  to  his  mother,  and  the  only  words  I 
heard  distinctly  were  these,  '  yincZ  as  thy  days,  so  shall 
thy  strength  6e."  This  seemed  a  voice  from  heaven,  he 
afterwards  accepted  the  call  and  wrote  of  his  charge: — 

"T  is  not  a  cause  of  small  import 
The  pastor's  care  demands! 
But  what  might  fill  an  angel's  heart, 
And  filled  a  Saviour's  hands." 


w 


140 


Doddridge's  hymns. 


Doddridge's  Hymn  Sung  with  Dying  Breath. 

®  RS.  SARAH  L.  SMITH  left  Boston  in  1833,  for  a 
cS?  foreign  missionary  field,  where,  two  years  later  she 
sank  into  the  grave,  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  her 
age.  ''Tell  my  friends,"  said  she,  "I  would  not  for  all 
the  world  lay  my  remains  anywhere  but  here,  on  mis- 
sionary ground."  Of  her  triumphant  death,  an  eye- 
witness wrote: — 

"We  sung  the  first  yerse  of  that  beautiful  hymn  of 
Doddridge,  on  the  eternal  Sabbath : — 

'"Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love, 
But  there's  a  nobler  rest  above; 
To  that  our  laboring  souls  aspire 
With  ardent  hope  and  strong  desire.' 

"To  my  surprise,  her  voice,  which  she  had  so  long 
been  unable  to  use  for  singing,  was  occasionally  heard 
mingling  with  ours.  Her  face  beamed  with  a  smile  of 
ecstacy;  and  so  intense  was  the  feeling,  expressed  in  her 
whole  aspect,  that  we  stopped  after  the  first  verse,  lest 
she  should  even  expire  while  drinking  the  cup  of  joy, 
we  had  presented  to  her.  But  she  said  to  us  'Go  on;' 
and,  though  all  were  bathed  in  tears,  and  hardly  able  to 
articulate,  we  proceeded  to  sing: — 

'"No  nore  fatigue,  no  more  distress, 
Nor  sin,  nor  hell  shall  reach  the  place; 
No  groans  to  mingltr  with  the  son^s, 
Which  warble  from  immortal  tongues,' 

"I  was  sitting  with  her  hand  in  mine.  While  singing 
this  second  verse,  she  pressed  it,  and  turned  to  me  at  the 
same  time  such  a  heavenly  smile  as  stopped  my  utterance. 
Bsfore  we  reached  the  end,  she  raised  both  her  hands 
above  her  head,  and  gave  vent  to  her  feelings,  in  tears 
of  pleasure,  and  almost  in  shouting.  Afterwards  she 
said,  *I  have  had  a  little  glimpse  of  what  I  am  going 
to  see It  seemed  a  glorious  sight.'" 


c; 


w 


An  incklent.  141 


r 


The  Hymn-prayer  at  the  Gate. 

fT  the  close  of  an  "Illustrated' Sermon"  inquirers  and 
others  were  invited  to  retire  to  an  adjoining  room  for 
prayer.  As  many  tilled  the  room  and  were  disposed 
to  take  the  prodigal's  first  step  homeward,  for  the  encour- 
agement of  such,  a  stranger,  an  old  gentleman  from  the 
South,  arose  and  said:  "Over  tbrty  years  ago,  during  a 
season  of  similar  awakening  in  Virginia,  a  young  prodi- 
gal felt  it  was  time  for  him  to  start  home.  He  had 
never  been  accustomed  to  pray  and  felt  afraid  to  venture 
near  the  Majestic  Ruler  of  the  universe.  He  was  then 
attending  an  academy,  a  mile  distant  from  his  father's 
house.  Taking  a  short  cut  through  the  fields  to  his 
home,  he  thought  he  could  possibly  find  some  suitable 
place  to  unburden  his  heavily-laden  heart  in  prayer. 

"As  he  beheld  a  retired  spot  in  the  fence-corner,  he  con- 
cluded to  oj)en  his  lips  there.  But  his  courage  failed  him, 
and  he  said  to  himself,  'In  the  distance  is  a  big,  white 
oak  tree;  that  will  shield  me.'  But  Avhen  under  the 
tree  his  stubborn  will  would  still  not  yield.  A  fork  in 
the  road  and  nearly  a  dozen  other  places  he  tried,  but 
W'hen  he  drew  near  to  them,  the  tempter  also  drew  near, 
and  caused  postponement,  until  at  length  he  got  to  the 
gate  at  the  head  of  the  lane  leading  to  the  house.  This 
was  the  last  resort  where  he  could  pray  unseen.  It 
seemed  to  him  as  the  turning  point.  As  he  sank  at  Jesus' 
feet,  a  hymn  came  to  his  lips  as  the  language  of  his  heart, 
and  so  he  cried  out : — 

'•' '  Show  pit}',  Lord  !  0  Lord,  forpive  ; 
Let  a  repealing  sinner  live. ' 

The  six  verses  of  that  hymn-prayer  decided  his  destiny. 
He  became  a  minister,  has  been  preaching  many  years, 
and  is  now  the  old  man  you  see  before  you." 


142 


Doddridge's  hymn. 


0  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice." 

OINING  the  cluirch  is  often  at- 
tended with  the  singing  of  this 
expressive  hymn,  written  by 
Philip  Doddridge. 

The  fourth  verse  was  once  the 
means  of  bringing  peace  to  an 
anxious  soul,  as  thus  described 
by  an  English  writer; — 

"  It  was  my  happiness  some 
time  since  lo  be  a  guest  in  a  fam- 
ily. One  morning  I  saw  one  of 
the  servants  in  the  deepest  exercise  of  soul  about  her 
salvation.     She  had  been  singing  that  hymn, — 

"  '  Now  rest  my  long  divided  heart, 

Fixed  on  this  blissful  centre  rest  ; 
"With  ashes,  who  would  grudge  to  part, 
When  called  on  angels'  food  to  feast. '' 

"  I  saw  her  troubled.  She  felt  she  had  not  loved  God 
enough,  or  prayed  enough,  or  wept  enough.  I  knew  she 
Avas  occupying  her  mind  about  herself,  and  that  she  did 
not  see  what  Christ  was.  I  remarked  that  self  was  mere 
'  ashes. '  I  asked  why  not  part  with  the  condemned 
doomed  ashes  of  self,  and  believe  in  Jesus  ?  It  was  dur- 
ing the  family  service  I  saw  her  countenance  so  change 
from  its  old  sadness  into  happiness  and  joy;  and  I 
thought — What  a  revulsion  is  taking  place  in  that  mind ! 
and,  wishing  to  know  for  myself,  I  called  her  aside  into 
the  drawing-room.  I  said,  '  You  seem  happy  now. ' 
'  I  am  happy, '  was  the  reply.  '  What  has  made  you 
happy?'  'Oh,  I  did  just  what  you  told  me  to  do.  I 
put  myself  down  to  the  third  chaj^ter  of  John. '  '  What 
do  you  mean  ?'  '  Why  there  where  it  says,  '  God  so 
loved  the  world.'     'Yes,  but  was  that  a  world  of  saints 


Doddridge  s  hymn  continued. 


143 


or  of  angels  ? '  '  No. '  '  What  was  it  then  ?  '  'A  M^orkl 
of  sinners.  Then  I  put  myself  down  into  that  Avorld  and 
I  found  God  loved  ??ie,  and  had  given  his  Son  for  me. '  " 
THIS  hymn  is  oftt;n  used  as  fitly  describing  the  birth- 
day into  the  kingdom,  and  is  in  this  respect  like  the  one 
"Wesley  wrote : — 

"  0  for  a  thoiisand  tongues  to  sing,  " 

which  he  styled,  "  For  the  anniversary  of  one' s  conversion.^ 

In  1871,  there  was  an  extensive  revival  in  Wisconsin, 

and  in  one  church  they  adopted  the  plan,  whenever  on 

an  evening,  a  sinner  decided  to  be  Christ's,  the  audience 

united  in  singing  : — 

"Oh,  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice 
On  Thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God.  " 

"  After  the  third  night,  there  was  the  blessed  privi- 
lege of  singing  it  every  evening  for  fifty  days,  for  one  or 
more,  in  whom  this  purpose  was  newly  formed:  and 
many  were  led  to  make  the  choice  Avhile  it  was  sung. " 

The  chorus  and  tune  of  "  Happy  day,"  became  wed- 
ded to  this  hymn,  and  was  everywhere  and  freque«tly 
sung  during  the  great  revival  in  1858.  A  Maine  phys- 
ician was  requested  to  certify  to  what  is  said  in  the  sec- 
ond verse, — 

'"Tis  done,  the  great  transaction's  done; 
I  am  my  Lord's,  and  He  is  mine,  " 

when  he  answered,  "I  can  certify  to  all  but  the  the  last 
words.  I  can  say  'lam  the  Lord's,'  but  cannot  say 
'He  is  mine.  '  I  have  no  consciousness  of  his  accept- 
ance of  me.  "  And  yet  his  experience  verified  the  Scrip- 
ture statement,  "With  the  heart  man  believeth  iin.to 
righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made 
unto  salvation.  "  For  the  moment  he  opened  his  mouth 
and  made  this  confession,  he  realized  the  sweet  assurance^ 
and  afterwards  could  say,  "  He  is  mine.  " 


r 


144 


Boddrldge^s  hymn. 


r 


"/.wake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve, 
And  press  with  vigor  on  : 
A  heavenl}'  race  demands  thy  zeal, 
And  an  immortal  crown.  " 


%  MINISTERIAL  brother  says  that  when  a  child  he 
•^  heard  a  sermon  on  the  text,  "So  run  that  ye  obtain," 
and  hearing  the  members  so  urgently  exhorted  to 
engage  in  a  race,  he  thought  it  was  going  to  take  place 
riglit  after  the  service.  Greatly  did  he  feel  disappointed, 
when,  having  hastened  out  of  church  to  get  a  good  posi- 
tion on  the  fence,  from  which  he  could  get  a  good  view 
of  the  racers,  he  found  that  they  did  not  "  run  a  bit. " 

In  Cunningham  valley,  Pa.,  we  had  literally  such  a 
race  at  the  close  of  preaching.  The  church  consisted  of 
but  one  audience-room,  and  that  was  wedged  so  full 
of  hearers,  that  it  was  impossible  in  a  prayer-meeting 
service  to  speak  to  those  who  desired  to  make  known 
their  anxieties,  an'd  to  seek  special  advice.  So  we  secured 
three  rooms  at  a  hotel  a  few  squares  distant.  But  these, 
proving  inadequate  to  hold  all,  there  was  a  regular  race 
at  the  close  of  each  service  to  gain  admittance. 

As  there  was  a  thaw  in  mid -winter,  and  the  roads  un- 
paved,  it  was  an  annising  sight  to  see  the  audience  splash- 
ing throuo-h  the  mud  on  a  regular  trot, — men,  women 
and  children  running  as  for  their  lives. 

What  still  added  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  scene  was 
the  fact  that  the  tavern  sign,  swinging  on  its  rusty  pivots 
over  our  heads  as  we  entered  the  tavern,  screeched  most 
piteously,  as  if  it  were  uttering  the  death  groans  of  King 
Alcohol,  and  so  they  proved  to  be. 

Most  of  the  inmates  of  the  landlord's  family  becoming 
subjects  of  grace,  the  sign-post  was  cut  down  after  the 
close  of  our  meeting,  and  the  building  was  afterwards  used 
for  other  purposes. 


,|i 


Doddridge's  hymn  illustrated.  145 


A  Hymn  of  One  Word. 

tN  an  article  concerning  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  in  the 
Cliristian  Standard,  Dr.  Stephen  Fish  gives  the 
origin  of  a  hymn  made  up  of  one  word.  Says  he : 
"  j\Iany  Bedouin  Arabs  have  embraced  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. Mr.  M.  Roysce,  of  Jerusalem,  gave  me  a  very 
interesting  account  of  the  conversion  of  an  Arab  whom 
he  knew  to  be  a  poet.  Soon  after  he  was  converted 
Mr.  Roysce  was  anxious  to  see  if  he  would  write  relig- 
ious poetry.  He  requested  Suleiman  to  court  the  Muses, 
and  compose  for  him  a  poem  on  the  duties  of  the  Christ- 
ian missionary,  and  he  did  so,  and  wrote  the  following : — 

"  Taiyib,  taijib,  taiyib,  taiyib,' 
Taiyib,  taiyib,  taiyib, 
Taiyib,  taiyib,.  taiyib,  taiyib, 
Taiyib,  taiyib,  taiyib." 

"  Any  trivial  sentiment  would  not  bear  repeating  quite 
so  many  times,  but  the  translation  of  '  Taiyib '  is  '  Go 
on, '  and  the  Arab,  zealous  in  his  new  life,  could  think 
of  nothing  but  going  ahead  in  it  and  growing  better  and 
better. " 

f^  .  .    . 

Qi  O  a  discouraged  Christian  who  was  about  to  give  up 

^  some  good  work  because  he  saw  no  results,   a  fellow 

laborer  remarked,  "  I'll  give  out  a  hymn  and  you  sing 

it.     It  is  common  metre. "     The  verse  above  translated 

in  English  was  the  one  announced : — 

"  Go  on,  go  on,  go  on,  go  on, 
Go  on,  go  on,  go  on. 
Go  on,  go  on,  go  on,  go  on. 
Go  on,  go  on,  go  on.  " 

The  advice  thus  given  was  heeded.  The  weary  one 
did  "go  on,  "and  glorious  results  followed. 


146  Doddridge's  hymn. 


A  Revival  Started  by  Singing  a  Hymn. 

f  prayer-meeting  of  a  country  village  was  attended  by 
but  few  during  a  season  of  coldness.  The  pastoi* 
was  absent,  his  place  being  supplied  by  one  of  his 
deacons,  Avho,  for  months  past,  had  been  deeply  mourn- 
ing in  secret  the  sad  decline. 

Dr.  Belcher  says :  "  The  hymn  he  selected  with  which 
to  commence  the  service  was  the  one  : — 

"  'Hear,  gracious  Favionr,  from  thy  throne, 
And  send  thy  various  blessings  down.  ' 

Two  or  three  verses  were  sung  to  an  old  tune,  till  the 
good  deacon  came  to  the  last,  which  thus  reads.  The 
reader  will  observe  especially  the  last  two  lines : — 

"  '  In  answer  to  our  fervent  cries, 
Give  us  to  see  thy  church  arise; 
Or,  if  that  blessing  seem  too  great, 
Give  us  to  mourn  its  low  estate. ' 

While  reading  this  verse,  the  good  man  paused:  it  evi- 
dently did  not  exactly  accord  with  the  feelings  of  his 
soul :  it  was  not  the  expression  of  his  prayer.  He  in- 
dulged a  moment's  thought, — swift  and  excellent  :  an 
alteration  suggested  itself, — his  eye  sparkled  with  joy, 
— and  out  it  came: — 

"  '  In  answer  to  our  fervent  cries, 
Give  us  to  see  thy  church  arise  ; 
That  blessing,  Lord,  is  not  too  great, 
Though  now  we  mourn  its  low  estate. ' 
Every  heart  was  arrested,  and  sudden  emotion  so  over- 
powered all  in  the  little  assembly  that  they  could  scarce- 
ly sing  the  words ;  but  each  in  silence  gave  to  the  senti- 
ment his  own   earnest  amen.     They  happily  proved  it 
to  be  true.     From  that  evening  a  revival  began :  the 
church  arose  from  its  slumber  to  new  faith  and  works; 
and  very  soon  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened  and 
a  plenitude   of  blessings  was  showered  down,  which  con- 
tinued for  several  years." 


Doddridge'' s  hymn.  14" 


Heaven  as  Represented  in  Song. 

f  WRITER  says  in  tiie  Ladies'  Repository:  "Mr. 
Editor,  in  your  notes  on  Sunday  school  songs  you 
quote  from  one  of  our  hymn-writers  the  lines — 

"  '  0  Golden  Hereafter  ! 
Thine  ever  bright  rafter 
Will  shake  in  the  thunder  of  sanctified  song.  ' 

"Can  you  kindly  refer  me  to  the  author  and  his  place 
of  residence,  that  I  may  write  to  him? 

"He  seems  to  possess  information  which  I  liave  been 
unable  to  get  from  ray  pocket  Bible,  and  it  is  possible 
that  he  can  relieve  my  anxiety  about  the  *  Golden  Here- 
after. ' 

"  What  I  want  to  know  is,  whether  there  is  any  danger 
of  the  plastering  or  timbers  tumbling  down  Avhen  the 
rafters  shake.  Yours  in  affliction. " 

After  a  thirty  years'  residence  in  Jamaica,  a  missionary 
remarks,  "One  who  knows  what  it  is  to  be  exposed  to 
the  sun  of  the  torrid  zone,  shudders  to  read  the  lines  of 
Doddridge,  describing  Heaven : — 

"  '  Xo  midnight  shade,  no  clouded  sun, 
But  sacied,  high,  eternal  noon.  ' 

"  The  idea  is  intolerable.  It  terrifies  one  to  think  of  it. 
The  man  who  wrote  the  lines  must  have  lived  far  north, 
where  the  glimpse  of  the  sun  was  a  rare  favor,  and  his 
highest  enjoyment  to  bask  in  its  rays  a  live-long  sum- 
mer day. 

"I  met  once  in  Jamaica  with  a  black  boy,  under  the 
shade  of  a  cocoa-nut  tree,  where  we  both  had  taken  shelt- 
er from  the  glare  of  the  meridian  sun,  and  the  dazzling 
sea-side  sandy  road.  I  said,  'Well,  my  lad,  did  you 
ever  hear  of  heaven?  '  Me  hear,  Massa. '  'And  what 
sort  of  a  place  do  you  think  it  will  be? '  '  Massa,  it  must 
be  a  very  cool  place. ' " 


•^" 


148 


Du^ekVs  hymn. 


\ 


)> 


Q 


Origin  of  "Stand  up !  stand  up  for  Jesus." 

fUE-ING  the  revival  period  of  1858,  the  watchword  of 
Christ's  army  seemed  to  be  the  message  of  one  of 
her  fallen  heroes,  the  Rev.  Dudley  A.  Tyng,  who, 
when  suddenly,  in  the  vigor  of  early  manhood,  was 
stretched  out  upon  a  death-bed,  said,  as  liis  parting  words 
to  his  brethren,  "Stand  up  for  Jesus.''  Under  their  in- 
sjiiration  the  Rev.  George  Duffield  composed  the  popular 
hymn  : — 

"Stand  up!  stand  up  for  Jesus," 
to  be  suno-  after  his  sermon  on  the  Sabbath  morning  f(jl- 
lowingthe  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Tyng  in  thespringof  1858. 
Shortly  before  his  departure  he  delivered  a  memorable 
sermon  in  Jayne's  Hall,  Pliiladelphia,  on  the  text,  "Ye 
that  are  men  now  serve  Him, "  in  which  the  slain  of  the 
Lord  Avere  many. 

Mr.  Duffield  has  embraced  these  words  in  quotation 
marks  in  the  verse : — 

"Stand  up  !  stand  up  for  Jesus  ! 

The  trumpet  call  obey.  " 
Forth  to  the  mighty  conflict 

In  this  his  glorious  day : 
'Ye  that  are  men,  now  serve  him' 

Against  unnumbered  foes; 
Tour  courage  rise  with  danger, 

And  strength  to  strength  oppose." 

During  our  meetings  in  the  Union  Tabernacle  at 
Quakertown,  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  we  sang  and  often 
referred  to  those  words.  One  morning  the  parents  of  a 
little  girl  were  awakened  by  the  repeated  call  of  their 
little  girl  in  the  cradle,  whose  pleading  voice  kept  saying, 
"Papa!  mama!  Pa-pa!  ma-ma!  Mis-ser  Long  say  'Tan 
up— tan  up  for  Y-e-s-u-s. " 

This  little  stammering  voice  went  so  deep  down  in  the 
hearts  of  the  parents  that  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day 


W 


Duffi,eld's  hymn  illustrated.  149 


they  did  "Stand  up  for  Jesus,"  and  after  soliciting  an 
interest  in  the  prayers  of  God's  people,  became  at  length 
earnest  and  decided  soldiers  of  the  cross. 

A  gentleman  gave  a  cird  to  a  little  girl,  one  day,  in 
a  railroad  car.  Supposing  that  she  could  not  read,  he 
said :  "  This  card  says, '  Stand  up  for  Jesus.' "  "  Does  it? " 
said  she.  And  as  if  acting  under  heavenly  impulses,  she 
went  along  the  row  of  seats,  saying  to  each  one,  "Stand 
up  for  Jesus!  Stand  up  for  Jesus!"  When  she  got  down 
one  side,  she  turned  around^  and  coming  up  the  other 
side,  repeated  the  same  words,  "Stand  up  for  Jesus!  Stand 
up  for  Jesus!"  The  unusual  sound  of  such  words,  in 
such  a  place,  and  their  frecpient  repetition,  produced  a 
deep  impression  on  many.  Her  mother  leaned  over  and 
wept  as  a  child,  and  thereby  was  induced  to  seek  the 
pardon  of  her  sins.  Two  weeks  later,  she  united  with 
the  chiu'ch,  and  afterward  did  "  Stand  up  for  Jesus." 

Another  little  one  took  a  noble  stand  for  Jesus,  in  the 
overflowings  of  her  heart.  A  man,  given  to  profanity, 
called  at  her  father's  house,  one  day,  and  in  his  conver- 
sation, dropped  an  oath.  It  fell  like  a  hot  coal  of  fire 
upon  the  tender  conscience  of  the  child,  and  so  she  burst 
out  crying,  as  if  severely  hurt,  and  left  the  room.  When 
the  cause  was  inquired  into,  she  sobbed  out,  "He  cursed 
my  Jesus."  When  the  swearer  heard  the  reproof,  it 
pierced  his  heart,  and  was  the  means  of  his  reformation. 

Some  commentators  say  that  the  verse  in  Exodus,  xvii. 
9,  should  be  translated  to  read,  "To-morrow  I  will  take 
my  stand  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  the  staff  of  God  in 
my  hand." 

Would  that  on  all  the  hilltops  of  Zion,  there  were 
Moseses  who  would  unfurl  the  banner  of  the  cross,  and 
take  a  stand  for  Jesus. 

"  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus, 
Ye  soldiers  of  the  cross."' 


150  Timothy  Bioight. 


Author  of  "I  love  Thy  kingdom,  Lord." 

fHIS  hymn  was  issued  iu  1800   by  Timothy   Dwight, 
D.  D..  who  was  also  the  author  of  another  hymn : — 

"While  life  prolongs  its  precious  light, 
Mercy  is  found  and  peace  is  given.  " 

He  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1752.  His  father 
was  a  merchant,  his  mother  a  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
Jonathan  Edwards.  She  began  in  early  infancy  to  en- 
lighten his  conscience  and  make  him  afraid  of  sin. 
These  impressions  became  permanent.  Such  was  his 
eagerness  and  capacity,  that  he  learned  the  alphabet  at  a 
single  lesson,  and  already  "at  the  age  of  four  could  read 
the  Bible  with  ease  and  correctness." 

At  eight  he  was  so  far  advanced  in  his  studies  that  he 
would  have  been  ready  for  admission  into  Yale  college^ 
and  when  he  actually  did  enter  at  thirteen,  he  was  already 
master  of  history,  geography  and  the  classics.  At  sev- 
enteen he  graduated.  Devoting  fourteen  hours  daily  to 
close  study,  his  sight  was  irreparably  impaired,  and  he 
was  compelled  to  employ  an  amanuensis.  At  nineteen  he 
Avas  appointed  tutor. 

At  twenty  he  issued  a  work  on  the  "  History,  Eloquence, 
and  Poetry  of  the  Bible,"  which  procured  him  great 
honor.  In  1777  he  was  chosen  chaplain  of  the  army, 
and  in  1795,  President  of  Yale  college.  In  1809  he 
issued  his  "Theology"  in  five  volumes.  After  the  severe 
studies  of  the  day  he  would  write  poetry  at  night.  Well 
could  he  say  of  the  church: — 

"  For  her  my  tears  shall  fall ; 
For  her  my  prayers  ascend  ; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given, 
Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end. " 

He  expired  in  1817,  saying  of  some  Bible  promises 
tliat  were  being  read  to  him,  "  O  what  triumphant  truths !" 


EE^':    TIMOTHY    D^V^IGHT.    S.T.D.IX.D. 

PTuESII)EX"T      OT    TALE   COET.EGE 
Fiti'M    iriir.  TO  isir. 


y^^^T^^^ 


^-^r-^/^ 


1 


DwiglvCs  hymn  illustrated.  153 


Singing  in  a  Forsaken  Church. 

tN  the  "  Holland  Purchase  "  a  log  church  was  built 
by  Methodist  pioneers.  It  flourished  well  for  years, 
but  eventually  some  of  the  old  members  died,   and 
others  moved  away,  till  only  one  was  left,  when  preach- 
ing also  ceased. 

This  mother  in  Israel  sighed  over  the  desolations  in 
Zion.  She  loved  the  old  forsaken  sanctuary,  and  still  kept 
going  there  on  the  Sabbath  to  worship  God  and  plead 
the  promises. 

At  length  it  was  noised  abroad  that  she  was  a  witch, 
that  the  old  church  was  haunted  Avith  evil  spirits,  and 
that  she  went  there  to  commune  with  them. 

Two  young  men  to  satisfy  their  curiosity,  secreted 
themselves  in  the  loft  to  watch  her.  On  her  arrival  she 
took  her  seat  by  the  altar.  After  reading  the  Scriptures, 
she  announced  the  hymn, 

"  Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken,  " 
and    sang  it  with  a  sweet   but  trembling  voice,  then 
kneeled    down    and  poured  out  her  heart    in  fervent 
prayer  and  supplication. 

She  recounted  the  happy  seasons  of  the  past,  ])lead 
for  a  revival,  and  for  the  many  who  had  forgotten  Zion. 

Her  pleadings  broke  the  hearts  of  the  young  men. 
They  began  to  weep  and  cry  for  mercy. 

As  the  Saviour  called  Zaccheus  to  come  down,  so  did 
she  invite  them  down  from  their  hiding-place. 

They  obeyed,  and  there  at  the  altar,  where  in  other 
days  she  had  seen  many  conversions,  they  too  knelt,  con- 
fessed their  sins,  sought  and  found  the  Saviour. 

From  that  hour  the  work  of  God  revived,  the  meet- 
ings were  resumed,  a  flourishing  church  grew  up,  and 
the  old  meeting  house  was  made  to  resound  with  the 
happy  voices  of  God's  children.  Dr.   Strickland. 


r 


154 


DwighCs  hymn  illustrated. 


C. 


Singing  heard  in  the  Wilderness- 

fNE  hundred  years  ago  Georgia  was  a  wild  wilderness. 
Preaching  places  were  "few  and  far  between."  In 
one  of  the  settlements,  six  miles  distant  from  each 
other,  lived  two  pious  women. 

They  felt  lost  when  moving  there,  away  from  their 
accvistomed  places  of  worship  in  Maryland,  and  especial- 
ly as  the  people  in  these  settlements  spent  their  Sundays 
in  frolicking  and  hunting. 

These  two  women  agreed  to  meet  half  way  between 
their  homes,  and  hold  a  prayer-meeting  by  them- 
selves. Sabbath  after  Sabbath  they  walked  to  their  ap- 
pointment, and  there  in  the  depth  of  that  southern  for- 
est engaged  in  prayer  and  praise. 

The  singing,  echoing  through  the  wild  woods,  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  a  hunter. 

As  he  drew  near  to  a  hiding  place,  he  was  overwhelm- 
ed by  what  he  heard.  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  he  would 
hide  near  enough  to  hear,  till,  at  the  close  of  one  of  their 
meetings,  he  could  not  conceal  himself  or  his  feelings  any 
longer.  He  then  invited  them  to  meet  at  his  cabin  the 
next  Sabbath,  promising  to   collect  in  his  neighbors. 

The  call  seemed  providential.  They  accepted  it.  It  was 
soon  noised  abroad.  The  whole  neighborhood  turned  out. 
Their  husbands  went  along  to  see  these  strange  women. 
When  lo!  their  own  wives  took  charge  of  the  meeting. 
The  Holy  Spirit  moved  and  melted  first  the  heart  of  the 
hunter,  then  of  the  two  husbands.  They  broke  out  in 
cries  of  mercy.  The  meeting  continued  night  and  clay 
for  some  two  weeks.  A fter  some  forty  were  converted, 
Kev.  B.  IMaxey  heard  of  it.  He  took  charge  of  the  re- 
vival which  continued  to  spread  over  a  vast  region  of 
country,  till  many  churches  sprang  up  where  preach- 
inof  had  never  been  heard  before. 


r 


Dwight's  hymn  illustrated.  *    155 


•    A  Prisoner  Singing  Himself  into  Liberty. 

§HIS  was  the  case  with  Deacon  Epa  Norris  during 
the  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  in  1812.  He  lived  in  the  Northern  Neck,  Va. 
Being  captured  and  taken  to  a  British  vessel,  they  in 
vain  sought  to  obtain  from  him  the  position  and  num- 
bers of  the  American  Army. 

Dr.  Belcher  says:  "The  commandant  of  the  ship  gave 
a  dinner  to  the  officers  of  the  fleet,  an<l  did  Mr.  Norris 
the  honor  to  select  him  from  the  American  prisoners  of 
war  to  be  a  guest.  The  deacon,  in  his  homespun  attire, 
took  his  seat  at  the  table  with  the  aristocracy  of  the 
British  navy.  The  company  sat  long  at  the  feast:  they 
drank  toasts,  told  stories,  laughed  and  sang  songs.  At 
length  Mr.  Norris  was  called  on  for  a  song.  He  de- 
sired to  excuse  himself,  but  in  vain:  he  must  sing.  He 
possessed  a  fine,  strong,  musical  voice.  In  an  ap- 
propriate and  beautiful  air,  he  commenced  singing: — 

"  '  Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God,  my  King, 

To  praise  thy  name,  give  thanks,  and  sing.  ' 

"  Thoughts  of  home  and  of  lost  religious   privileges, 

and  of  his  captivity,   imparted  an  unusual  pathos  and 

power  to  his  singing.     One  stanza  of  the  excellent  psalm 

must  have  seemed  peculiarly  pertinent  to  the  occasion  : — 

" '  Fools  never  raise  their  thoughts  so  higli : 
Like  brutes  they  live,  like  brutes  thi-y  dia  ; 
Like  grass  they  flourish,  till  thy  breath 
Blast  them  in  everlasting  death. ' 

"When  the  singing  ceased,  a  solemn  silence  ensued. 
At  length  the  commandant  broke  it  by  saying  :  '  Mr. 
Norris,  you  are  a  good  man,  and  shall  return  immedi- 
ately to  your  family.'  The  commodore  kept  his  word  ; 
for  in  a  few  days  Mr.  Norris  was  sent  ashore  in  a  barge, 
with  a  handsome  present  of  salt, — then  more  valuable 
in  the  country  than  gold." 


156 


Charlotte  Elliott. 


Q 


Author  of  "  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea.  " 

fbFIIS  M'orld-renowncd  hymn,  issued  in  1836  by 
(^  Charlotte  Elliott,  is  spoken  of  as  "  the  divinest  of 
heart-utterances  in  song  that  modern  times  have 
bestowed  upon  us. "  It  is  one  of  those  hymns  that  are 
suited  to  all  ages,  characters,  and  conditions  in  life. 

Mr.  Saunders  says:  "The  plaintive  melody  of  the  re- 
frain cannot  but  awaken  a  responsive  echo  in  every 
devout  soul,  as  the  sad  notes  of  some  lone  bird  are 
caught  up  and  repeated  amid  the  stillness  of  the  silvan 
solitude. " 

Rev.  R.  S.  Cook,  of  New  York,  sent  to  Miss  Elliott 
a  companion  and  counterpart  to  her  hymn,  commencing: 
"Just  as  thou  art,  without  one  trace." 

Miss  Elliott  is  grand-daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Venn, 
and  sister  of  Rev.  E.  B.  Elliott,  author  of  the  *'Hova3 
Apocalypticse, "  and  of  Rev.  Henry  Venn  Elliott, 
liimself  a  writer  of  hymns. 

Mr.  Miller  says  (1869)  "that  she  formerly  resided  at 
Torquay,  where  the  neighborhood  was  greatly  benefited 
by  her  piety  and  benefactions,  and  is  now  residing  at 
an  advanced  age  and  infirm  health  at  Brighton." 

She  is  represented  as  "a  lover  of  nature,  a  lover  of 
souls,  and  a  lover  of  Christ. " 

Her  heart  and  pen  are  kept  so  busy  with  writing  for 
lier  Master,  that  it  is  said  that  even  in  her  old  age,  she 
seldom  appears  at  the  breakfast  table  without  more  or 
les-s  of  poetical  composition  in  manuscript. 

She  has  issued  the  following  publications:  In  1842, 
"Morning  and  Evening  Hymns  for  a  Week,  by  a  Lady; 
in  1836,  "Hours  of  Sorrow  Cheered  and  Comforted;" 
in  1863,  "Poems  by  E.  C. ;"  yearly  she  has  issued 
"The  Christian  Remembrance;"  besides  contributing 
one  hundred  hymns  to  the  Invalids'  Hymn-Book. 


CHARLOTTE  ELLTOTT. 


Charlotte  Elliott  continued.  159 


"Just  as  I  am"  was  an  epitome  of  Miss  Elliott's  ex- 
perience. Her  sister  says  that  in  1821  "she  became 
deeply  conscious  of  the  evil  in  her  own  heart,  and  hav- 
ing not  yet  fully  realized  the  fulness  and  freeness  of  the 
grace  of  God  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  she  suffered  much 
mental  distress  under  the  painful  uncertainty  whether 
it  were  possible  that  such  a  one  as  she  felt  herself  to  be 
could  be  saved." 

After  groping  her  way  through  darkness  for  a  year. 
Dr.  Malan  of  Geneva  paid  her  a  visit  at  her  father's 
house  on  the  ninth  of  May,  1822.  Seeing  how  she  was 
held  back  from  the  Saviour  by  her  own  self-saving  efforts, 
he  said:  "Dear  Charlotte,  cut  the  cable,  it  will  take  too 
long  to  unloose  it;  cut  it,  it  is  a  small  loss,"  and  then 
bidding  her  give  "one  look,  silent  but  continuous  at  the 
cross  of  Jesus,"  she  was  enabled  at  once  freely  to  say; — 

"Just  as  I  am — without  one  plea 
But  that  thj  bloud  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bid'st  me  come  to  thee, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  1  come  !  " 

"From  that  time,"  says  her  sister,  "for  forty 
years  his  constant  correspondence  was  justly  esteemed  the 
greatest  blessing  of  her  life.  The  anniversary  of  that 
memorable  date  was  always  kept  as  a  festal  day;  and  on 
that  day,  so  long  as  Dr.  jNIalan  lived,  commemorative 
letters  passed  from  the  one  to  the  other,  as  upon  the  birth- 
day of  her  soul  to  true  spiritual  life  and  peace. "  Dr. 
Malan  as  a  skilful  spiritual  physician  had  carefully  probed 
the  wound,  and  led  her  to  the  true  remedy  for  all  her 
anxiety, — namely,  simple  faith  in  God's  own  Nvord.  It 
w^as  thus  from  her  own  experience  she  could  write : — 

"  Just  as  I  am  — thou  wilt  receive, 
AVilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve  ; 
Because  thy  promise  I  believe, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  !  " 


160  Charlotte  ElliotCs  hymn  continued. 


"From  that  ever  memorable  day/'  it  is  said  her  "spir- 
itual horizon  was  for  the  most  part  cloudless,"  until,  in 
the  bright  vision  that  attended  her  dying  moments,  she 
could  say  in  the  language  of  her  last  verse; — 

"  Just  as  I  am — of  that  free  love, 

The  breadth,  length,  depth   and  height  to  prove, 
Here,  for  a  season,  then  above, 

0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come."  . 

Clamly  she  closed  her  eyes  in  death,  September  22, 1871^^^/ 

fPOOR  little  boy  once  came  to  a  New  York  city 
missionary,  and  holding  up  a  dirty  and    worn-out 
bit  of  printed  paper,  said,  "Please,  sir,  father  i-entme 
to  get  a   dean  paper  like  that. "     Taking   it  from  his 
hand,  the  missionary  unfolded  it,  and  found  that   it  was 
a  page  containing  the  precious  hymn : — 

"Just  as  I  am — without  one  plea." 

He  looked  down  with  deep  interest  into  the  face  so 
earnestly  upturned  towards  him,  and  asked  the  little 
boy  where  he  got  it,  and  why  he  wanted  a  clean 
one.  "We  found  it, sir, "  said  he,  "in  sister's  pocket, 
after  she  died,  and  she  used  to  sing  it  all  the  time  she 
was  sick,  and  she  loved  it  so  much  that  father  wanted 
to  get  a  clean  one,  and  put  it  in  a  frame  to  hang  it  up. 
Wont  you  please  to  give  us  a  clean  one,  sir?" 

The  son-in-law  of  the  poet  Wordsworth  sent  to  Miss 
Elliott  a  letter,  telling  of  the  great  comfort  afforded  his 
wife  when  on  her  dying  bed,  by  the  hymn.  Said  he,  wh'en 
"  I  first  read  it,  I  had  no  sooner  finished  than  she  said 
very  earnestly,  Hhat  is  the  very  thing  for  me.'  At  least 
ten  times  that  day  she  asked  me  to  repeat  it,  and  every 
morning  from  that  day  till  her  decease,  nearly  two  months 
later,  the  first  thing  she  asked  me  for  was  her  hymn. 

"Now  my  hymn,"  she  would  say — and  she  would  of- 
ten repeat  it  after  me,  line  for  line,  in  the  day  and  night." 


W 


Miss  Elliotts  hymn.  161 


"OSir!  I've  come,  I've  come. " 

^  — : 

n^HE  Rev.  Dr.  McCook,  while  in  his  pastorate  at  St. 
^  Louis,  was  sent  for  to  see  a  young  lady  who  was  dy- 
ing of  consumption.  He  soon  found  that  she  had 
imbibed  infidelity  through  the  influence  of  her  teacher 
in  the  Normal  School,  and  with  her  keen  intellect  was 
enabled  to  ward  off  all  the  claims  of  the  gospel. 

After  exhausting  all  the  arguments  he  could  think  of 
during  his  visits,  he  was  exceedingly  puzzled  to  know 
what  more  to  do,  as  she  seemed  unshaken  in  her  doubts. 
She  at  length  seemed  so  averse  to  the  subject  of  religion 
that  when  calling  one  day,  she  turned  her  face  to  the  wall 
and  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  him,  Mr.  McCook  said : 
"  Lucy,  I  have  not  called  to  argue  with  you  another  word, 
but  before  leaving  you  to  meet  the  issues  of  eternity  I 
wish  to  recite  a  hymn. "  He  then  repeated  with  much 
emphasis  the  hymn : — 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,  " 
and  then  bade  her  adieu.  She  made  no  response.  He 
was  debating  for  some  time  whether,  after  so  much  re- 
pugnance, he  should  call  again.  But  realizing  her  near- 
ness to  the  eternal  world  he  concluded  to  make  one 
more  visit.  Taking  his  seat  by  her  bedside  she  slowly 
turnefl  around  in  bed.  Her  sunken  eyes  shone  with  un- 
Avonted  lustre,  as  she  placed  her  thin,  emaciated  hands  in 
his  and  said  slowly,  and  with  much  emotion : — 

"'JustasT  am,  without   one   plea, 
But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bidst  me  come    to   thee, 
0    Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  come.  ' 

"O  Sir!  I've  come.  I've  come."  That  hymn  told 
the  story.  It  had  decided  her  eternal  destiny.  It  had 
done  what  all  the  loo-ical  arp;uments  had  failed  to  do. 

She  soon  afterwards  peacefully  crossed  the  river. 


M) 


1G2 


3Iiss  ElUotfs  hymn,  continued. 


Q 


"Just  as  I  am"  Uttered  with  a  Dying  Breath. 

t ESSIE,  a  young  lady  of  eighteen,  whose  home  is  in 
Vermont,  while  attending  seminary  was  taken  very 
ill.  It  seemed  only  a  slight  illness,  but  to  the  sur- 
prise of  all,  when  the  doctor  was  summoned,  he  said: 
"  You  can  have  but  a  few  hours  to  live. "  A  correspond- 
ent says :  "  Not  one  who  was  present  will  forget  that  look 
of  awe  and  terror  that  covered  Jessie's  face.  '  0  pray 
for  me,'  was  her  agonized  request  of  all  her  friends.  To 
her  schoolmates  she  sent  the  message,  'Tell  them  to  be 
Christians,  for  they  know  not  at  what  moment  they  may 
be  siu'prised  as  I  have  been.'     She  then  began  to  say: — 

"'Just  as  I  am,  ■without  one  plea, 

But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  tliat  Thou  bidst  me  come  to  Thee, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. ' 

"The  second  verse  was  begun  in  a  faint  whisjDer: — 

"  '  Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not. 

To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot, 
To  Thee—"' 

With  the  word,   'Thee'  upon  her  lips,  she  breathed  her 
last  breath  and  passed  away  to  the  spirit-land." 

tAR  out  on  the  Western  prairies  dwelt  a  father  who 
had  not  been  to  church  for  fifteen  years.  After  death 
laid  some  of  his  family  in  the  grave,  God's  "still  small 
voice"  came  to  him.  "All  alone,"  said  he,  "out  there 
on  the  prairie,  with  no  religious  teacher,  no  Christian 
friend,  God  spoke  to  me.  I  then  gladly  went  to  hear  a 
missionary  preach  in  a  school-house.  Was  this  salvation 
for  me?  Could  I,  so  long  a  wanderer,  come  and  be  for- 
given?    While  agitated  with  these  thoughts,  they  sang: 

"  '  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea. ' 
It  told  my  story,  and  before  it  was  ended,  I  could  say: — 
"  '  0  Lamb  of  God,T   come.  '  " 


Miss  Elliott's  hymn  continued.  1G3 


"To  thee,  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot.'' 

f  MISSIONARY  in  his  travels,  found  a  heathen 
expirinsT  by  the  waysid(.  Inquiring  of  his  hopes 
for  the  life  to  come,  the  dying  man  whispered:  "The 
blood  o["  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin  ;"  and  with 
this  utterance  he  breathed  his  last  breath.  The  mission- 
ary, perceiving  a  bit  of  paper  in  his  closed  hand,  took  it 
from  his  grasj),  when,  to  his  great  joy,  he  found  it  to  be 
a  leaf  of  the  Bible,  containing  the  First  chapter  of  1st 
John,  on  which  was  printed  the  text  that  gave  him  his 
hold  on  eternal  life.  Ascending  thus  to  the  skies,  he 
could  truthfully  say,  in  the  language  of  Miss  Elliott's 
hymn : — 

"To  thee,  ^hose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 


^NE  day,  a  dying  girl,  twelve  years  old,  rousing  from 
^  her  slumbers,  said:  "Aunty,  how  do  you  know  you 
are  a  Christian?"  To  which  the  answer  was  given: 
"Darling,  we  love  Jesus,  and  try  to  do  what  he  tells  us. 
Do  you  want  to  be  a  Christian  ?"  "  Oh,  yes  aunty ! " 
The  lines  of  the  hymn  were  then  quoted: — 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea. 

But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bidst  me  come  to  thee, 
0  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  !  I  come ! "  etc. 

when  she  continued,  "Oh,  aunty,  isn't  that  lovely?" 
During  the  convulsions  that  followed,  and  closed  her 
earthly  career,  she  could  be  heard  saying:  "Abba,  Father, 
Thou  knowcst  that  I  love  thee.  Aunty  will  teach  me." 
When  her  baby  brother  was  brought  in  to  see  her 
in  her  coflin,  he  truthfully  said:  "tatie  seepix." 
This  seemed  to  the  weeping  parents  but  the  echo  of  the 
Master's  words:  "She  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth." 


r 


164 


Charlotte  ElliotCs  hymn. 


The  Young  Chorister's  Last  Hymn. 

fVERYBODY  knew  Claude  Davenel  was  dying;  he 
knew  it  himself,  and  his  mother  knew  it  as  she  sat 
there  watching  him.  All  the  villagers  knew  it,  and 
many  an  eye  was  wet  as  the  name  of  little  Claude  was 
whispered  among  them. 

Claude  had  taken  his  illness  on  a  chilly  autumn  even- 
ing, when  the  choir  was  practising  in  church.  One  of 
his  companions,  Willie  Dalton,  complained  of  a  sore 
throat,  so  that  he  could  not  sing,  and  he  sat  down  cold 
and  sick  in  his  own  place.  Claude  took  off  his  comfort- 
er and  wrapped  it  around  his  friend's  neck,  and  when  the 
practising  was  over  he  ran  home  with  him,  and  then  put 
on  his  comforter  again  as  he  went  back  to  his  own  home. 

Willie  was  sickening  for  the  scarlet  fever,  and  poor 
Claude  caught  it  too.  Willie  recovered  ;  but  Claude  had 
taken  the  disease  in  its  worst  form,  and  though  the  fever 
had  left  him,  he  had  never  been  able  to  recover  his 
strength,   and  he  had  grown   weaker  and  wasted  away. 

And  so  it  was  on  this  calm  Sunday  evening.  He  had 
been  drawn  up  close  to  the  window,  to  listen  to  the 
church  bells  slowly  ringing  out  and  calling  people  in. 

The  bell  stopped,  and  Claude's  eyes  grew  more  wistful 
as  the  sound  of  the  organ  fell  upon  his  ear.  That  stopped 
too,  and  then  all  was  still.  He  closed  his  eyes  until  he 
heard  it  again;  and  then  he  opened  them,  listening  in- 
tently. 

"  They  are  coming  out  now,  mother,"  he  said,  after  a 
minute's  pause.  "Lift  me  up  a  little,  mother  dear;  I 
want  to  see  them.  I  can  hear  the  boys'  foot  steps  on  the 
gravel — lift  me  up  a  little  higher,  mother — they  are  com- 
ing this  way.  I  can't  see  them,  but  I  can  hear  them — 
they  are  coming  down  our  street.  Mother,  put  your 
haud  out,  and  wave  my  handkerchief  to  them. " 


r 


w 


3Iiss  Elllotfs  hymn  continued.  165 


The  trampling  of  feet  had  stopped  under  his  window, 
and  there  was  a  low  murmur  of  voices.  Another  mo- 
ment and  there  was  a  gentle  tap  at  the  door,  and  Willie 
Dalton  slipped  in. 

"  Mrs.  Davenel,  we  want  to  sing  to  Claude. " 

The  question  had  been  whispered,  but  Claude  heard 
and  caught  at  it  eagerly. 

"Oh,  do!  do!  Mother,  let  me  hear  them— just  once 
more. " 

The  poor  mother  nodded  her  head  sadly. 

"It  can't  hurt  him,  Willie,  and  he  likes  it." 

The  boy  cast  a  loving  glance  upon  his  friend,  and  then 
went  quietly  out  of  the  room. 

There  were  a  few  minutes  of  silence  below,  and  then 
the  choir-boys  sang  Claude's  favorite  hymn: — 

"My  God,  my  Father,  while  I  stray 
Far  from  my  home  in  life's  rough  way, 
Oh,  tfach  me  from  my  heart  to  say, 
'  Thy  will  be  done  ! ''" 

He  clasped  his  hands  together  and  gently  began  to  join 
in  when  they  sang  the  fourth  verse: — 

"  If  thou  should'st  call  me  to  resign 
What  most  I  prize,  it  ne'er  was  mine, 
I  only  yield  Thee  what  is  Thine: 

*  Thy  will  be  done  ! ' "' 

When  the  hymn  was  ended  his  mother  bent  down 
over  her  son.  His  head  had  fallen  back  upon  the  pillow 
and  the  color  had  fled  from  his  cheeks. 

"Mother,"  he  said,  "write  'Thy  will  be  done'  over 
my  grave  when  I  am  gone.  " 

So  the  little  chorister  died.  He  is  buried  in  a  spot 
near  the  path  to  the  choir  vestry;  and  till  those  choir- 
boys had  given  place  to  others,  they  used  to  sing  each 
year  the  same  hymn,  at  Claude  Davenel's  grave,  on  the 
evening  of  the  day  on  Avhich  he  died.      Children's  Prize. 


3i 


Wo 


John  Fawcett. 


Fawcett  and  his  Hymns. 

fLTHOUGH  AVhitefield  did  not  perpetuate  liIs  in- 
fluence through  tlie  composition  of  any  hymns,  yet 
he  was  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  some  liymn- 
"writers,  who  are,  after  the  march  of  a  century,  still 
shaping  the  eternal  destiny  of  precious  souls.  Who  can 
measure  the  circle  of  influence  that  has  widened  out 
through  the  singing  of  that  oft-repeated  hymn : — 
"Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing! '' 

Its  author,  Robert  Robinson,  was  among  the  thousands 
of  Whitefield's  converts.  So  was  also  the  Rev.  John 
Fawcett,  D.  D.  Both,  when  lads  of  about  sixteen  years 
of  age,  were  drawn  into  the  stream  of  salvation  by  the  tide 
of  Whitefield's  popularity. 

Fawcett  was  born  at  Lidget  Green,  England,  January 
6,  1739.  His  father  having  died  when  he  was  twelve 
years  of  age,  he  was  apprenticed  for  six  years  at  Bradford. 

While  at  this  place  he  was  tempted  to  follow  the  crowds 
that   everywhere   surrounded   the  eloquent   Whitefield. 

The  sermon,  that  was  made  eifective  to  his  conversion, 
was  from  the  words,  "  And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be 
lifted  up."  "As  long  as  life  remains,"  he  says,  "I  shall 
remember  both  the  text  and  the  sermon." 

In  1758,  he  united  with  the  newly-formed  Baptist 
church  at  Bradford.  After  using  his  talents  in  exhor- 
tation for  some  time,  he  was  urged  by  the  church  to  pre- 
pare for  the  regular  work  of  the  ministry.  To  this  advice 
he  yielded.  In  INIay,  1765,  he  was  ordained  as  pastor 
of  tiie  Baptist  church  at  Wainsgate.  Two  years  later, 
he  issued  his  "Poetic  Essays,"  and  in  1782,  lie  gathered 
together  his  hymns,  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  in  num- 
ber, in  a  volume,  entitled,  "Hymns  adapted  to  the 
circumstances  of  Public  Worship  and  Private  Devotion." 


c: 


JOHN  FAWCETT. 


Faiccett  continued.  169 


In  1788,  he  published  an  invakiable  little  volume  on 
"Anger."  George  III.  having  been  presented  with  a 
copy,  was  so  much  pleased,  tiiat  he  sent  word  to  the 
author,  that  he  would  confer  any  favor  upon  him  that 
he  might  desire.  Fawcett,  however,  modestly  declined 
availing  himself  of  the  royal  munificence. 

8ome  time  afterwards,  however,  the  son  of  one  of  his 
most  intimate  friends  committed  forgery  in  an  unguarded 
moment,  and  was  sentenced  to  <leath.  Fawcett  interceded 
on  his  behalf,  tlie  king  remembered  his  former  offer,  and 
granted  the  pardon.  The  young  man  afterwards  became 
a  devoted  Christiau,  and  was  thus  saved  for  time  and 
eternity. 

Fawcett  often  said,  "If  the  Lord  has  given  to  man 
the  ability  to  raise  such  melodious  sounds  and  voices  on 
earth,  what  delightful  harmony  will  there  be  in  heaven?" 

One  of  his  sweet  hymns  is  entitled,  "Praise  on  Earth 
and  in  Heaven,"  of  which  the  first  and  fourth  stanzas, 
are, 

"Joyfully  on  earth  adore  him 

Till  in  heaven  our  song  we  raise; 
There  enraptured  fall  before  him, 
Lost  in  wonder,  love,  and  praise. 

"  Praise  to  thee,  thou  great  '^reator, 
Praise  be  thine  from  every  tongue; 
Join,  my  sonl,  with  every  creature, 
Join  the  universal  song." 

"Among  his  other  hymns  that  are  still  frequently 
sung,  we  may  mention  those  commencing, 

"Religion  is  the  chief  concern 
Of  mortals  here  below.'' 

"Sinners,  the  voice  of  God   regard." 

"Thy  presence,  gracious  God,  affords." 

"How  precious  is  the  book  divine." 

"Thy  way,  0  God,  is  in  the  sea." 


ITO  Origin  of — Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds. 


"Blest  be  the  Tie  that  Binds." 


fmS  sweet  hymn  was  written  by  Rev.  John  Fawcett 
D.  J),  in  1772.  The  following  are  given  as  the  inter- 
esting facts  that  occasioned  it. 

After  he  had  been  a  few  years  in  the  ministry,  his  fam- 
ily increasing  far  more  rapidly  than  his  income,  he  thought 
it  was  his  duty_  to  accept  a  call  to  settle  as  pastor  of  a 
Baptist  church  in  London,  to  succeed  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Gill.  He  preached  his  farewell  sermon  to  his  church  in 
Yorkshire,  and  loaded  six  or  seven  wagons  with  his  fur- 
niture, books,  etc.,  to  be  carried  to  his  new  residence. 
All  this  time  the  members  of  his  poor  church  were  almost 
broken  hearted,  fervently  did  they  pray  that  even  now 
he  might  not  leave  them;  and,  as  the  time  for  departure 
arrived,  men,  women,  and  children  clung  around  him 
and  his  family  in  perfect  agony  of  soul. 

The  last  wagon  was  being  loaded,  when  the  good  man 
and  his  wife  sat  down  on  one  of  his  packing-cases  to  weep. 
Looking  into  his  tearful  face,  while  tears  like  rain  fell 
down  her  own  cheeks,  his  devoted  wife  said,  "  Oh,  John, 
John,  I  cannot  bear  this !  I  know  not  how  to  go  ! ''  ''  Nor 
I,  either, "  said  the  good  man;  "  nor  will  we  go.  Unload 
the  wagons  and  put  everything  in  the  place  where  it  was 
before. "  The  people  cried  for  joy.  A  letter  was  sent  to 
the  church  in  London  to  tell  them  that  his  coming  to 
them  Avas  impossible;  and  the  good  man  buckled  on  his 
armor  for  renewed  labors)  on  a  salary  of  less  than  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year. 

He  then  took  his  p6n  and  wrote  the  words, 

''Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love,  " 

as  expressive  of  the  golden  bond  of  union  that  knit  pas- 
tor and   people  so   closely  and    tenderly   together. 

Dr.  Belcher. 


Q 


FawceWs  hymn  illustrated.  171 


Singing  of  "Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds." 

fANY  liave  been  the  occasions  when  tliis  hymn  has 
just  suited  to  give  expression  to  the  outgusliings  of 
that  brotherly  affection  that  unites  the  hearts  of 
God's  dear  children.  It  was  sung  with  great  emphasis 
and  significance  at  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New 
School  divisions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  1859. 
The  two  bodies  having  met  in  two  churches,  at  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  they  afterwards  formed  on  opposite  sides  of  the  street, 
and  then  moved  along  one  block,  when  a  halt  was  made. 
The  two  moderators,  who  headed  their  respective  colunms, 
then  approached  and  grasped  each  other's  hands,  which 
example  was  followed  by  the  two  opposite  ranks,  until 
"amidst  welcomes,  thanksgivings,  and  tears,  tliey  locked 
arms,"  and  thus  marched,  as  one  united  host,  to  the 
temple  of  God,  where  they  sang : — 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name," 
and  then  blended  their  voices  in  the  grand  old  doxology : — 
"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 
The  tide  of  feeling  gradually  rose  till  it  reached  its 
culmination,  when  Dr.  Fowler,  the  moderator  of  the  New 
School  body,  turned  to  Dr.  Jacobus,  the  moderator  of  the 
Old  School  body,  saying:  "My  dear  brother  moderator, 
may  we  not,  before  I  take  my  seat,  perform  a  single  act, 
symbolical  of  the  union  which  has  taken  place  between 
the  two  branches  of  the  church.  Let  us  clasp  hands." 
This  challenge  was  immediately  responded  to,  "amid  pro- 
longed and  deafening  applause."  After  which,  the  thou- 
sands present,  amid  flowing  tears  and  swelling  hearts, 
joined  in  singing: — 

"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds, 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love  ; 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds, 
Is  like  to  that  above." 


c 


;172  Origin  of  GerliarcWs  hymn. 


A  Sweet  Hymn  Born  In  Sorrow. 


fAUL  Gerliardt  was    born    in    Saxony,    in    the   year 
1606.     He  is  the  author  of  many  choice  hymns. 
It  was  in  a  dark  day  he  wrote  the  hymn — 

"  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears, 
Hope  and  be  undismayed. —  " 

On  account  of  some  conflict  with  the  king  in  his  re- 
ligious sentiments,  he  was  ordered  to  leave  the  Nicholas 
church  at  Berlin,  where  he  had  preached  for  ten  years, 
and  quit  the  country.  With  his  helpless  wife  and  little 
ones  he  turned  his  steps  towards  Saxony,  his  native  land. 

The  journey,  taken  on  foot,  was  long  and  weary. 
As  they  turned  aside  to  spend  the  night  in  a  little  village 
inn,  his  wife,  overcome  with  sorrow,  gave  way  to  tears  of 
anguish.  Gerhard t,  concealing  his  own  sadness,  quoted 
the  beautiful  promise — "  Trust  in  the  Lord  ;  in  all  thy 
ways  acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall  direct  thy  paths.  " 

His  own  mind  was  so  impressed  by  these  Words,  that 
he  turned  aside  and  composed  this  hymn. 

Late  that  evening,  as  Gerhardt  and  his  wife  Fat  in  the 
little  parlor,  two  gentlemen  came  in,  and  after  some  gen- 
eral conversation,  said  they  were  going  to  Berlin  to  Ger- 
hardt, the  deposed  minister.  Madam  Gerhardt  turned 
pale  with  alarm,  fearing  some  new  calamity.  Her  luis- 
band,  however,  with  entire  self-possession,  told  the 
strangers  that  he  was  the  man.  One  of  the  gentlemen 
then  gave  him  a  letter  from  Duke  Christian,  of  Meres- 
burg,  informing  him  that  in  view  of  his  unjust  deposition 
from  the  church  in  Berlin,  he  had  settled  a  pension  on 
him.  Gerhardt  in  the  joy  of  that  moment,  quietly  turn- 
ed to  his  wife  and  gave  her  the  hymn  he  had  composed 
in  the  early  part  of  the  evening,  when  all  was  so  dark 
and  seemingly  hopeless.  "  See,  "  said  Gerhardt,  as  he 
handed  his  wifs  the  hymn,  "  see  how  God  provides !  " 


r 


PAUL  GERHARDT. 


GerhardCs  hymns.  175 


C 


The  hymn,  which,  according  to  tradition,  had  this  in- 
teresting origin,  was  first  published  in  1659.*  It  was 
one,  among  many  others,  which  was  translated  by 
John  Wesley.  In  German,  it  commences,  "  Befiehl  du 
deiue  Wege,"  and  consists  of  twelve  stanzas  of  eight  lines 
each.     It  is  now  so  arranged  as  to  form  two  hymns.     One, 

"  fommit  thou  all  thy  griefs 
And  ways  into  his  hands, 
To  his  sure  truth  and  tender  care, 
Who  earth  and  heaven  commands. 


The  other, 


"Who  points  the  clouds  their  course, 
When  wind  and  seas  obey. 
He  shall  direct  thy  wandering  feet, 
He  shall  prepare  thy  way."  &c. 


"Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears  ; 
Hope,  and  be  undismayed  : 
God  hears  thy  sighs  and  counts  thy  tears ; 
God  shall  lift  up  thy  head. 
"Through  waves  and  clouds  and  storms, 
He  gently  clears  thy  way; 
Wait  thou  his  time,  so  shall  this  night 
Soou  end  in  joyous  day."  &c. 

June,  1676,  Gerhardt  reached  his  three  score  years  and 
ten,  and  also  the  end  of  life's  journey.  After  uttering 
some  sweet  final  words,  parting  with  his  only  son  on 
the  banks  of  the  river,  he  cheered  and  comforted  himself 
in  his  dying  moments,  by  repeating,  over  and  over  again, 
the  eighth  verse  of  his  hymn,  "  Wherefore  should  I  grieve 
and  pine;"  and  while  the  words  were  still  lingering  upon 
li  is  lips,  he  breathed  his  last.  The  words  were  these ;  of  the 
Christian  he  says : — 

"  Him  no 
Death  has  power  to  kill. 
But,  from  man^^  a  dreaded  ill 

Bears  his  spirit  safe  away, 
Shuts  the  door  of  bitter  woes, 
Opens  yon  bright  path  that  glows 

With  the  light  of  perfect  day." 


*  Uhe  discrepancy  of  dates  makes  this  tradition  doubtful. 


176  Gerhardt  continued. 


His  devoted  wife  had  preceded  him,  in  1668,  and  by 
her  own  request,  one  of  her  husband's  hymns  was  read  to 
her  as  she  entered  the  dark  valley.  Gerhardt  wrote  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  hymns  and  ranks  next  to 
Luther,  in  the  grandeur  and  force  of  his  sacred  poetry. 
He  is  described  as  a  man  of  medium  height,  of  quiet  l)ut 
firm  and  cheerful  bearing.  His  portrait  in  the  Lubben 
Church  bears,  in  Latin,  this  inscription:  ^tA  divine 
sifted  in  Satan's  sieve." 

Among  his  best  hymns  that  are  now  in  use  in  the 
English  language,  we  may  mention  the  following,  com- 
mencing, 

"  0  sacred  head,  once  wounded," 
"Jesus,  thy  boundless  love  to  me,*' 
"  Holy  Ghost !  dispel  our  sadness." 

One  of  his  heroic  songs  found  in  many  hymn  books  begins, 

"  Since  Jesus  is  my  Friend, 
And  I  to  him  belong, 
It  matteis  not  what  foes  intend, 
However  fierce  and  strong. 


"  He  wliispers  in  my  breast 

Sweet  words  of  holy  cheer, — 
How  they  who  seek  in  God  their  rest, 
Shall  ever  find  him  near." 


flFFEREl^T  writers  corroborate  the  following  touch- 
ing story  connected  with  one  of  Gerhardt's  hymns: — 
"What  a  dreadful  day  was  the  14th  of  September, 
1796,  for  the  small  Hessian  town  of  Lisberg,  built  on 
the  wooded  heights  of  the  Vogelberg.  Between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock  at  night,  five  hundred  fugitives  of  the 
French  army,  wliich  had  just  been  defeated  by  the  Arch- 
duke Charles,  fled  through  the  city,  breathing  vengeance; 
and  after  they  had  destroyed,  murdered,  and  plundered 
for  many  hours,  they  set  fire  to  the  town  at  all  points, 
so  that  fifty-eight  dwellings  were   burned  to  the  ground. 


Gerhard£s  hymn.  ^'' 


"On  the  slope  of  the  hill  stood  a  cottage,  where  a 
mother  sat  at  the  bed  of  her  sick  child.  From  fear  ot 
endano-ering  the  life  of  her  darling,  she  would  not,  ni  the 
cold  September  day,  flee  with  it  to  the  woods,  as  most  of 
the  inhabitants  had  done.  But  now,  when  the  firnig  and 
murdering  began  in  the  place,  and  the  smoke  ot  the 
burning  houses  came  down  from  the  hill  nito  the  valley, 
then  the  poor  lone  woman  was  fearful  unto  death;  she 
bolted  the  door  of  the  cottage,  and  threw  herselt  on  her 
knees  in  prayer  beside  the  cradle  of  her  chdd.  ihus 
she  remained  a  long  time,  trembling  as  she  listened  to 
the  shouts  of  the  soldiers  and  the  shrieks  of  the  victims ; 
at  last  her  door  was  struck  by  the  butt-end  of  a  musket; 
and  it  quickly  flew  open,  and  a  Frenchman  rushed  m, 
pointing  his  bayonet  at  the  horrified  woman.  Uie 
mother  laid  her  hands  over  her  child,  and  with  a  voice 
of  despair  she  piayed  aloud  the  verse  of  Gerhardt  s 
hymn : — 

"  '  My  Jesus,  stay  thou  by  me, 
And  let  no  foe  come  nigh  me, 

Safe  sheltered  by  thy  wing  ; 
But  should  the  foe  alarm  me, 
Oh!  let  him  never  harm  me, 

But  still  thine  angels  round  me  sing.' 

Suddenly  the  soldier  lowered  his  deadly  weapon,  stepped 
to  the  cradle,  and  laid  his  rough  hand  softly  on  the  child  s 
head,  his  lips  moved  as  if  in  prayer,  and  tear-drops  tell 
over  his  bearded  face.  Then  he  gave  his  hand  to  the 
mother  and  went  away  in  silence.  After  some  time  she 
arose  from  her  knees,  and  looked  out  of  the  little  window, 
and  behold!  there  stood  the  Frenchman,  his  musket  on 
his  arm.  He  had  made  himself  the  sentinel  to  protect 
the  house  and  its  inmates  from  all  insult  or  harm.  At 
last,  when  the  whole  troop,  laden  with  booty,  marched 
off,  he  left  his  post,  with  a  greater  treasure  in  his  heart 
than  his  comrades  had  in  their  sacks." 


178  Paul  Gerhardfs  hymn. 


Relief  Brought  while  Singing. 

tEAR  Warsaw,  there  once  lived  a  pious  peasant  of 
German  extraction,  by  name  Dobry.  Without 
any  fault  of  his  own,  he  had  fallen  into  arrears 
with  his  rent ;  and  the  landlord  determined  to  turn  him 
out ;  and  it  was  winter.  He  went  to  him  three  times 
and  besought  him  in  vain.  It  was  evening,  and  the  next 
day  he  was  to  be  turned  out  with  all  his  family;  when, 
as  they  sat  there  in  their  sorrow,  Dobry  kneeled  down 
in  their  midst,  and  sang  

" '  Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs 
And  ways  into  His  hands. ' 

And  as  they  came  to  the  last  verse, 

"  '  When  Thou  wouldst  all  our  need  supply, 
Who  shall  stay  Thy  hand?' 

there  was  a  knock  at  the  window.  It  was  an  old  friend, 
a  raven,  that  Dobry's  grandfather  had  taken  out  of  the 
nest,  and  tamed,  and  then  set  at  liberty.  Dobry  opened 
the  window:  the  raven  hopped  in,  and  in  his  bill  was  a 
ring  set  with  precious  stones.  Dobry  thought  he  would 
sell  the  ring:  but  he  thought  again  that  he  would  take 
and  show  it  to  his  minister;  and  he,  M'ho  saw  at  once 
by  the  crest  that  it  belonged  to  King  Stanislaus,  took  it 
to  him,  and  related  the  story.  The  king  sent  for  Dobry, 
and  rewarded  him,  so  that  he  was  no  more  in  need,  and 
the  next  year  built  him  a  house,  and  gave  him  cattle  from 
his  own  herd;  and  over  the  house-door  there  is  an  iron 
tablet,  whereon  is  carved  a  raven  with  a  ring  in  his  beak, 
and  underneath  this  verse: — 

"'  Thou  everywhere  hast  sway, 

And  all  things  serve  thy  might : 
•  Thy  every  act  pure  blessing  is  ; 

Thy  path,  unsullied  light!'" 


~w 


Boyhood  experience  of  E.  M.  Long.  179 


"  Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs." 

m  HIS  hymn  is  expressive  of  the  experienoeof  theauthor. 
©  When  a  boy,  I  gave  my  heart  to  Jesus  and  felt  called 
to  become  a  mhiister.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  of 
my  conversion  I  told  mother.  Her  tears  of  sympathy 
were  all  the  help  she  could  give.  So  we  agreed  to  tell 
Jesus  about  the  matter  and  then  leave  it  in  his  hands. 
Staying  with  a  friend,  who  lived  twelve  miles  from  coll- 
ege the  call  seemed  to  ring  so  loudly  that  I  was  unable 
to  sleep  one  Saturday  night.  Before  daylight  I  arose 
and,  without  money  or  friends,  started  off  for  college. 

Through  the  rain  and  mud  I  tramped  the  hilly  road 
cheered  with  the  constant  thought  that  Jesus  Wiis  with 
me,  and  would  care  for  me  in  some  way. 

It  was  church  time  when  my  weary  feet  reached  their 
destination.  Not  knowing  where  to  go,  or  what  to  do,  I 
walked  up  and  down  the  streets  of  the  strange  town  till 
I  met  a  man  that  I  thought  looked  like  a  Christian.  I 
told  him  my  story.  He  took  me  along  to  church.  An 
aged  minister  arose  and  read  as  his  text,  "  Casting  all 
your  care  upon  Him,  for  He  careth  for  you."  The 
text  and  sermon  seemed  all  for  me,  I  wondered  who  had 
told  the  preacher  about  me.  Standing  outside  the  church 
door,  I  watched  for  the  Lord  to  send  some  one  to  care 
for  me.  I  did  not  wait  long  until  a  Christian  man  came 
out  to  whom  I  told  my  story — how  my  heart  was  bur- 
dened with  the  desire  to  become  a  preacher,  and  how  I 
had  walked  the  long  road  trusting  for  relief  through 
some  kind  providence.  He  at  once  extended  a  helping 
hand.  Took  me  the  next  day  to  a  banker,  who  said 
"Come  on,  I'll  see  you  through ;"  with  nimble  feet  I 
hastened  home  to  tel  1  my  mother  the  good  news.  And 
before  that  week  was  around,  I  was  at  the  preparatory 
school  connected  with  the  college,  preparing  to  preach. 


180  Joseph  Grigg. 


A  Popular  Hymn  written  by  a  Boy  ten  Years  Old. 

fEIE  well-known  hymn  found  in  nearly  all  the  church 
hymn-books  commencing, — 

"Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be," 

was  written  by  Jose})h  Grigg  when  but  a  child.  It  had 
for  its  heading  when  first  published :  ''  Shame  of  Jesus 
conquered  by  love,  by  a  youth  of  ten  years.^'  It  first  ap- 
peared in  the  "  Gospel  Magazine  "  for  April,  1774.  The 
Rev.  Benjamin  Francis  afterwards  re-wrote  the  hymn  for 
Rippon's  Selection.  This  is  the  form  in  which  it  is  now 
used.     Originally  the  first  verse  read: — 

"  Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be 

A  mortal  man  ashamed  of  Thte? 
Scorned  be  the  thought  by  rich  and  poor, 
(Jh,  may  I  scorn  it  more  and  more." 

In  early  life  Mr.  Grigg  labored  as  a  mechanic,  and 
issued,  when  a  young  man,  a  pamphlet  containing  nineteen 
hymns  written  while  at  work. 

He  at  length  became  a  minister,  and  ])reached  in  Sil- 
ver Street,  London,  and  married  a  widow  lady  of  con- 
siderable wealth.  He  was  "  a  friend  of  the  poor,  the  charm 
of  the  social  circle,  and  an  attractive  and  useful  preacher." 

After  a  fruitful  life  he  died,  in  1768,  at  Walthamstow 
near  London. 

In  1765,  he  sent  forth,  in  tract  form,  "Four  Hymns 
on  Divine  Subjects,  wherein  the  Patience  and  Love  of 
Our  Divine  Saviour  is  displayed."  One  of  the  four  was 
the  hymn  now  in  such  frequent  use,  beginning, — 

"Behold!  a  stranger  at  the  door. 

He  gently  knocks,  has  knocked  before; 
Has  waited  long,  is  waiting  still : 
You  treat  no  other  friend  so  ill." 

Forty  of  his  hymns  with  his  "Serious  Poems  "were 
issued  in  book  form,  by  Mr.  Daniel  Sedgwick,  in  1861. 


Griggs^ s  hymn.  181 


"  Behold  a  stranger  at  the  door. " 

^HE  following  poetical  illustration  of  the  sentiments 
C^  of  this  hymn  was  penned  by  Lopede  Vega,  who  was 
born  at  Madrid,  in  1562.  In  Evenings  with  the  Sa- 
cred Poets  it  is  said  that  he  read  Latin  at  five  years  of 
ao-e-  and  such  was  his  passion  for  verses,  that  before  he 
could  use  a  pen,  he  bribed  his  elder  schoolmates  with 
a  portion  of  his  breakfast,  to  write  to  his  dictation,  and 
tiien  exchanged   his  effusion   with  others  for  prints  and 

hvmns.  ,  i       i  i.i, 

'  Thus  truly  he  lisped  in  numbers;  and  as  he  was  the 
most  prolific  and  voluminous  of  poets,  he  kept  Inmselt 
diligently  exercised  in  that  line  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

<:  Lord,  what  am  I,  that,  with  unceasing  care. 

Thou  didst  seek  after  me?  that  thou  didst  wait, 
Wet  with  unhealthy  dews,  before  my  gate. 

And  pass  the  gloomy  nights  of  winter  there? 
Oh   strange  delusion,  that  I  did  not  greet 

Thy  blessed  approach  !  and  oh,  to  heaven  how  lost, 
In  my  ingratitude's  unkindly  frost. 

Has  chilled  the  bleeding  wounds  upon  Thy  feet: 
How  oft  mv  guardian  angel  gently  cried, 

'  Soul  from  thy  casement  look,  and  thou  shalt  see 
How  He  persists  to  knock  and  wait  for  thee. ' 

And  oh!  how  often  to  that  voice  of  sorrow, 
'  To-morrow  we  will  open  '    I  replied  ; 

And  when  to-morrow  came,   I  answered   still,- 

[  '  to-morrow. '  " 

f  LITTLE  boy  had  listened  very  attentively  while  \/ 

his  father  read  at  flimily  worship  the  third  chapter 
of  Revelation.  But  when  he  repeated  that  beau- 
tiful verse,  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock:  if 
any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come 
in 'to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me,  he 
could  not  wait  until  his  father  had  finished,  but  ran  up 
to  him  with  the  anxious  inquiry:  "Fa,  did  he  get  ml 


182  Hymn  of  Gustavus  AdoIjiJius. 


Gustavus'  Battle-hymn. 

fUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS,  the  great  and  good  king 
of  Sweden,  hearing  of  the  straits  into  which  Protest- 
antism was  brought  in  its  struggles  against  Papacy  in 
Germany,  marched  to  the  relief  of  his  Christian  brethren 
in  1630.     With  a  small  but  disciplined  army  he  turned 
the  tide,  and  helped  to  preserve  that  land  in  its  faith. 

After  his  victory  at  Leipzic  he  wrote  down,  in  a  rude 
form,  a  hymn  to  be  sung  by  his  army,  which,  as  revised 
and  arranged  by  his  chaplain,  Dr.  Fabricus,  has  thus 
been  translated: — 

"  Fear  not,  0  little  flock  !  the  foe 

Who  madly  seeks  your  overthrow. 
Dread  not  his  rage  and  power! 

What  though  your  courage  sometimes  faints, 
His  seeming  triumph  o'er  God's  saints 

Lasts  but  an  hour.  " 
"Amen,  Lord  Jesus  grant  our  prayer: 

Great  Captain,  now  thine  arm  make  bare, — 
Fight  for  us  once  again  : 

So  shiiU  Thy  saints  and  martyrs  raise 
A  mighty  chorus  to  Thy  praise, 

World  without  end, — Amen.  " 

At  the  commencement  of  the  battle  at  which  the  king 
was  killed,  he  commanded  this  hymn  to  be  sung,  accom- 
panied by  the  trumpets  and  drums  of  the  whole  army. 
Then  Gustavus  knelt  beside  his  horse  in  face  of  the 
soldiers  and  repeated  his  usual  battle-prayer:  "O  Lord 
Jesus,  bless  our  armies  and  this  day's  battle,  for  the  glo- 
ry of  Thy  holy  name."  Then  passing  along  the  lines 
giving  a  few  brief  words  of  encouragement,  he  gave  the 
battle  cry,  '■  God  with  us. " 

When  found  wounded  on  the  field  of  battle,  amid  a 
heap  of  dying  men,  he  exultingly  cried  out,  "I  am  the 
king  of  Sweden,  and  seal  with  my  blood  the  liberty  and 
religion  of  the  whole  German  nation."  I 


Toplady's  hymn.  •         183 


r 


Hymns  upon  the  Battle-field. 

f  CHRISTIAN  soldier,  about  to  die  on  the  battle-field 
during  our  late  war,  knelt  deep  in  the  mud,  and  said 
imploringly  to    the    chaplain,  "Oh   brother!  let  us 
sing  once  more  before  I  die." 
"What  shall  I  sing?" 

"Sing  the  song  my  mother  sung  when  I  was  her  dar- 
ling boy;  and  that  always  thrilled  my  soul  as  no  other 
earthly  song  ever  did.  Sing,  *  Rock  of  Ages,cleft  for  me.' 
That  hymn,  more  than  anything  else,  led  me  to  the  Rock 
Christ  Jesus."  He  expired  while  the  song  was  yet  faintly 
moving  on  his  lips. 

tURING  the   Crimean  war  a  touching  account  was 
given  of  a  soldier,  who,  while  on  guard  as  a  picket, 
felt  so  forlorn  by  being  night  after  night  exposed  to 
the  mud,  fog,  and  rain  of  the  battle-field,  that  he  resolved 
to  end  his  misery  by  committing  suicide. 

While  retiring  to  a  secluded  spot  to  execute  his  pur- 
pose, he  heard  some  one  in  the  dark  tramping  throucrh 
the  mud  and  rain,  cheerfully  singing  a  sweet  hymn.  As 
he  listened  he  found  it  came  from  a  Christian  whose  faith 
enabled  him  ever  to  sing  amid  surrounding  gloom : — 

"Content  with  beholding  His  face, 
My  all  to  His  pleasure  resigned, 
No  changes  of  season  or  place 

Can  make  any  change  in  my  mind. " 

Well  did  Luther  say  of  Christian  song; — 

"  The  Devil's  work  it  doth  impede, 
And  hinders  many  a  deadly  deed. 
So  fared  it  with  King  Saul  of  old  ; 
When  David  struck  his  harp  of  gold. 
So  sweet  and  clear  its  tones  rang  out, 
Saul's  murderous  thoughts  were  ])ut  to  rout." 


li 


184         •  Madame  Guyon. 


Madame  Guyon  and  her  Hymns. 

HEN  the  heavens  are  overcast  at  night,  sometimes 
the  thick  clouds  will  open  far  enough  to  let  the 
light  of  some  hidden  star  appear  amid  the  sur- 
roimding  gloom.  Such  a  lone  star  was  Madame  Guyon, 
shining  through  the  midnight  darkness,  and  among  the 
thick  clouds  of  papal  error  and  superstition. 

Jeanne  Marie  Bouviers  de  la  Motte  Guyon  was  born 
April  13,  1648,  at  Montargis,  about  fifty  miles  south  of 
Paris.  She  grew  up  under  influences  which  gave  her 
free  access  to  the  circles  of  fashion  and  wealth.  Tall  and 
beautiful  in  person,  refined  and  prepossessing  in  manners, 
fluent  and  ready  in  speech,  she  was  the  centre  of  at- 
traction in  whatever  position  she  moved. 

At  sixteen,  through  parental  maneuvering,  she  was 
made  the  victim  of  an  uncongenial  marriage  with  M. 
Guyon,  a  man  of  wealth.  "It  was  then,"  said  she,  "I 
began  to  eat  the  bread  of  sorrow,  and  mingle  my  drink 
with  tears."  After  twelve  years  of  cruel  treatment,  re- 
ceived from  her  mother-in-law,  her  husband  died,  leaving 
her  with  a  family.  These  trials  led  her  to  seek  a  refuge 
from  sin  and  sorrow.  After  many  self-saving  efforts, 
Christ  became  to  her  the  "all"  of  salvation.  With  a 
heart  all  aglow  with  a  Saviour's  love,  she  sought  by  all 
possible  means  to  make  him  known  to  others,  in  all  parts 
of  France  and  Italy. 

Her  converts  became  so  numerous,  and  her  influence 
so  great,  that  the  papacy  sought  in  every  possible  way  to 
neutralize  her  power.  They  publicly  burnt  her  books, 
set  in  motion  the  vilest  calumny,  and  instigated  a  servant 
to  give  her  poison.  "But,  "  said  she,  "the  more  perse- 
cution raged  against  me,  the  more  attentively  was  the 
word  of  the  Loixl  listened  to,  and  the  greater  the  number 
of  spiritual  chiklren   were  given  tome."     In  1688,  by 


Q 


MADAME  GUYON. 


Madame  Guyon  continued.  187 


order  of  the  king,  she  was  imprisoned  in  the  Convent  of 
St.  Marie.  Her  daughter  and  all  her  comforts  were  taken 
from  her. 

Though  the  air  of  the  small  room,  in  which  she  was  im- 
prisoned, was  so  confined  and  heated,  that  she  says  "it 
seemed  like  a  stove,"  yet  now  she  realized  that 

" prisons  would  palaces  prove, 

If  Jesus  were  with  me  there.'' 

It  was  in  this  cell,  she  wrote  those  memorable  lines : — 

"A  little  bird  I  am 

Shut  from  the  fields  of  air, 
And  in  my  cage  I  sit  and  sing 

To  Him  who  placed  me  there; 
Well  pleased  a  prisoner  to  be, 
Because,  my  God  it  pleases  thee. 
"Nought  have  I  else  to  do, 

I  sing  the  whole  day  long, 
And  He  whom  most  I  love  to  please 

Doth  listen  to  my  song: 
He  caught  and  bound  my  wandering  wing, 
And  still  he  bends  to  hear  me  sing. 
"Oh!  it  is  good  to  soar. 

These  bolts  and  bars  above. 
To  Him  whose  purpose  I  adore, 

Whose  Providence  I  love  ; 
And  in  thy  mighty  will  to  find 

The  joy,  the  frjedom  of  the  mind." 

The  king's  wife  having  interceded  on  her  behalf,  she 
was  set  free  after  eight  months'  imprisonment.  But  on 
the  charge  that  she  did  not  worship  saints,  and  held 
meetings  in  private  houses,  she  was,  in  1695,  again  ar- 
rested, and  confined  in  the  Castle  of  Vincennes. 

"  There,"  she  tells  ns,  "  I  passed  my  time  in  great  peace, 
content  to  pass  the  rest  of  ray  life  there,  if  such  were  the 
will  of  God.  I  sang  songs  of  joy,  which  the  maid  who 
served  me  learned  by  heart,  as  fast  as  I  made  them ;  'and 
we  together  sang  thy  praises,  O  my  God !  The  stones 
of  my  prison  looked  in  my  eyes  like  rubies.     I  esteemed 


188  Iladame  Guyon  continued. 


them  more  than  all  the  gaudy  brilliancies  of  the  world. 
My  heart  was  full  of  that  joy  thou  givest  to  them  that 
love  Thee  in  the  midst  of  their  greatest  crosses." 

This  maid,  La  Gautiere,  to  whom  she  refers,  was  one 
of  her  spiritual  children,  who  was  willing  to  go  into 
prison  with  her  for  Ciirist's  sake.  When  her  brother 
sought  to  allure  her  away,  she  wrote  saying,  "If  your 
house,  my  dear  brother,  had  been  made  of  precious  stones, 
and  if  I  could  have  been  treated  and  honored  in  it  as  a 
queen,  yet  I  should  have  forsaken  all  to  follow  after  God." 
To  write  this  letter  she  had  to  *'use  soot  instead  of  ink, 
and  a  bit  of  stick  instead  of  a  pen,"  and  yet  what  pen 
and  ink  ever  wrote  more  heroic  words.  From  this  prison 
she  was  removed,  in  1696,  to  the  prison  of  Vaugirard, 
from  which  she  was  removed  in  1698,  to  the  famous 
Bistile,  that  "abode  of  broken  hearts." 

When  incarcerated  in  the  Bastile,  they  were  separated 
and  each  had  to  sing  alone.  Here  the  maid  exchanged 
her  dark  cell  for  a  bright  home  in  heaven.  But  Madam 
Guyon  was  imjjrisoned  four  years,  when  she  was  banished 
for  the  remainder  of  her  life  to  Blois.  It  was  here  she 
could   appropriately   use  the  language  of  her  hymn  : — 

"  My  Lord  !  how  full  of  sweet  content, 

I  pass  my  years  of  banishment! 

Where'er  I  dwell,  I  dwell  with  thee, 

In  heaven,  in  earth,  or  on  the  sea. 
"To  me  remains  nor  place  nor  time; 

My  country  is  in  every  clime: 

T  can  be  calm  and  free  from  care 

On  any  shore,  since  God  is  there." 

After  leaving  the  Bastile  she  says :  "  My  body  was  from 
that  time  sick  and  l)orne  down  with  all  kinds  of  infirmi- 
ties." She  died  June,  1717,  in  her  seventieth  year. 
Her  peaceful  end  is  ])ictured  in  these  words,  that  she 
wrote  to  a  friend :  "  If  my  work  is  done,  I  think  I  can 
say,  I  am  ready  to  go.     In  the  language  of  the  proverb. 


Madame  Guy  on  continued.  189 


I  have  already  'one  foot  in  the  stirrup/  and  am  ready  to 
mount  and  be  gone,  as  soon  as  my  heavenly  Father 
pleases." 

Most  of  her  hymns  in  use  are  translations  by  Cowper, 
who  said:  "Her  verse  is  the  only  French  verse  I  find 
agreeable,  there  is  a  neatness  in  it,  equal  to  that  which 
we  applaud  in  the  compositions  of  Prior."  He  says  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Bull  "rode  twenty  miles  to  see  her  picture  in 
the  house  of  a  stranger,  which  stranger  politely  insisted 
on  his  acceptance  of  it,  and  it  now  hangs  over  his  chimney. 
It  is  a  striking  picture,  and,  were  it  encompassed  with 
a  glory,  instead  of  being  dressed  in  a  nun's  hood,  might 
pass  for  the  face  of  an  angel." 

She  composed  many  hymns  and  poems,  which,  with 
her  other   writings,  fill   five  octavo   volumes. 

Her  heart  seemed  to  be  ascending  to  God  in  a  continual 
flame  of  warmest  love.  Her  frequent  ejaculations  were, 
"  0  my  God,  let  me  be  wholly  thine!  Let  me  love  Thee 
purely  for  thyself,  for  thou  art  infinitely  lovely.  O  my 
God,  be  Thou  my  all !    Let  everything  be  as  nothing  to  me." 

How  much  significance  such  heart  longings  give  to  the 
language  of  her  hymn: — 

"I  would  love  thee,  God  and  Father! 
My  Redeemer!  and  my  King! 
I  would  love  thee:  and  without  thee, 
Life  is  but  a  bitter  thing. 
"  I  would  love  thee  :  look  upon   me, 
Ever  ofuide  me  with  thine  eye  : 
I  wouldTove  thee;  if  not  nourished 
By  th}'  love,  my  soul  would  die. 

"  I  would  love  thee  ;  may  thy  brightness 
Dazzle  my  rejoicing  eyes  ; 
I  would  love  thee  ;  may  thy  goodness 
Watch  from  heaven  o'er  all  I  prize. 
"I  would  love  thee, — I  have  vowed  it,- 
On  thy  love  my  heart  is  set; 
While  1  love  thee,  I  will  never 
}  My  Redeemer's  blood  forget." 


190  Henry  Harbaugh. 


Harbaugh  and  his  Hymns. 

fEV.  HENRY  HARBAUGH,  D.  D.   wrote   some 
beautiful  poetry,  but  is  more  widely  known  through 
liis  three  popular  works :  "The  Sainted  Dead,"  "The 
Heavenly  Recognition,"  and  "The  Heavenly  Home." 
He  was  born  near  Waynesboro' Penn.,  Oct.  28,  1817. 
In  Harbaugh's  autobiographical  poems,  he  has  inter- 
woven some  pleasing  sketches  of  his  life.     And  as  they 
will  give  a  clearer  and  more  satisfactory  insight  into  his 
character,  than  any  picturing  our  pen   may  be  able  to 
give,  we   will  furnish  a   few  extracts    herewith.     His 
school-boy  days,  he  describes  in  "  The  Old  School-House 
at  the  Creek :" — 

"  I've  travelled  long  and  travelled  far, 
Till  weary,  worn,  and  sick; 
How  joyless  all  that  I  have  found, 
Compared  with  scenes  that  lie  around 
This  school-house  at  the  creek. 

"  'Twas  here  I  first  attended  school, 
When  I  was  very  small : 
There  was  the  master  on  his  stool. 
There  was  his  wliip  and  there  his  rule — 
I  seem  to  see  it  all. 

*'Aronnd  the  cosy  stove,  in  rows. 
The  little  tribe  appears  ; 
What  hummings  raake  those  busy  bees — 
They  better  like  their  A,  B,  '^'s. 

Than  boxing  at  their  ears  ! 

"  The  long  desks  ranged  along  the  walls, 

With  books  and  inkstands  crowned; 

Here  on  this  side  the  large  girls  sat, 

And  there  tlie  tricky  boys  on  that — 
See  !  how  they  peep  around  ! " 

"  The  master  eyes  them  closely  now, 
They'd  better  have  a  care  ; 
The  one  that  writes  a  billet-doux — 
The  one  that  plays  his  antics,  too — 

And  that  chap  laughing  there  !  " 

C  S)/ 


HENRY  HARBAUGH. 


Ilarbaugh  continued.  1 93 


Harbauo;h  was  early  led  into  the  path  of  piety,  while 
growing  up  under  the  nurture  of  Christian  parents,  and 
united  with  the  German  Reformed  Church  of  which  the 
Rev.  G.  W.  Glessner  was  pastor.  How  graphically,  in 
after  years,  he  depicts  his  heart-yearnings  towards  that 
Christian  home,  and  the  devoted  mother,  whose  blessings 
he  craved  when  going  away  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  In  his  jioera  on  "  Home- 
sickness," he  says: — 

"  Two  spots  on  this  old  friendly  porch 

I  love,  nor  can  forget, 
Till  dimly  in  the  night  of  death 

My  life's  last  sun  shall  set! 
When  first  I  left  my  father's  house, 

One  summer  morning  bright, 
My  mother  at  that  railing  wept      , 

Till  I  was  out  of  sight! 
Now  like  a  holy  star  that  spot 

Shines  in  this  world's  dull  night, 

"  Stir,  still  I  see  her  at  that  spot, 

W'ith  handkerchief  in -hand  ; 
Iler  cheeks  are  red — her  eyes  are  wet — 

Tliere,  there  I  see  her  stand!  ^ 

Twas  there  I  gave  her  my  good-bye, 

There,  did  her  blessing  crave, 
And  oh,  with  what  a  aiother's  heart 

She  that  sought  blessin.n'  gave. 
It  was  the  last — ere  I  returned 

She  rested  in  her  grave  !  " 

In  1843,  after  the  completion  of  his  studies  at  Mer- 
cersburg.  Pa.,  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  soon  after- 
wards was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  at 
Lewisburg,  Pa.  Here  he  wrote  his  "Sainted  Dead." 
After  six  years  of  successful  labor,  he  accepted  a  call  from 
the  First  Reformed  Church  of  Lancaster,  Pa.  While 
at  this  place  he  received  the  title  of  doctor  of  divinity, 
wrote  his  "Heavenly  Recognition,"  "Heavenly  Home," 
''Birds  of  the  Bible,"   "Union  with  the   Church,"  and 

r  —  ?)) 


194  Harbaugh  continued. 


"The  true  Glory  of  AVoman,"  with  other  valuable  works. 

In  1860,  he  became  pastor  of  St.  Luke's  lieforined 
Church,  Lebanon,  Pa.  Here  he  wrote  his  "Hymns  and 
Ciiants."  Three  years  later,  he  was  elected  to  the  chair 
of  Didactic  and  Practical  Theology,  in  the  seminary  of 
the  Reformed  Church  at  Mercersburg.  This  position  he 
filled  with  great  honor,  and  general  acceptance  till  his 
death,  which  took  place  December,  28,  1867. 

His  earnest  Christian  life  was  but  the  utterance  of  his 
most  popular  hymn.     Heartily  he  could  say : — 

"Jesus!  I  live  to  thee, 

The  loveliest  and  best; 
My  life  in  thee   is  life  to  me, 
In  thy  blessed  love  I  rtst. " 

The  sentiments  of  his  second  and  third  verses  were 
sweetly  realized  in  his  peaceful  death.  Just  before  his 
departure,  on  waking  from  slumber,  he  uttered  as  his 
last  intelligible  words:  "You  have  called  me  back  from 
the  golden  gates,  from  the  verge  of  my  heavenly  home.^' 
Thus  he  could  say: — 

•  "Jesus  !  I  die  to  thee, 

Wlienever  death  shall  come  ; 
To  die  in  thee  is  life  to  me 
In  my  eternal  home. 
"Whether  to  live  or  die, 

1  know  not  which  is  best ; 
To  live  in  thee  is  bliss  to  me, 
To  die  is  endless  rest." 

The  last  verse  of  this  hymn  is  carved  on  the  beautiful 
monument  erected  to  his  memory: — 

"  Living  or  dying  Lord! 
I  ask  but  to  be  thine ; 
My  life  in  thee,  thy  life  in  me. 
Makes  heaven  for  ever  mine." 

Another  of  his  hymns,  highly    prized,  conmiences, 
"  Christ,  by  heavenly  hosts  adored." 


c; 


Harbaugh  continued.  195 


"  Heavenly  Recognition "  was  a  theme  upon  which  he 
loved  to  dwell.  Those  of  our  readers,  who  love  to  cher- 
ish the  memory  of  the  sainted  dead,  will  be  pleased  with 
the  following  from  Harbaugh's  poetic  pen : — 

"Oft  wee[)ing  memory  sits  alone, 
Btsi'le  some  grave  at  even, 
And  calls  upon  the  spirit  flown  : 
Oh  say !  shall  those  on  earth  our  own 
Be  ours  again — in  Heaven? 

"Amid  these  lone  sepulchral  shades 
To  quiet  slumbers  given. 
Is  not  some  lingering  spirit  near, 
To  tell   if  those  divided  here, 
Unite  and  know — in  Heaven? 

"Shall  friends,  who  o'er  the  waste  of  life, 
By  the  same  storms  were  driven  — ' 
Shall  they  recount   in  realms  of  bliss. 
The  fortunes  and  the  tears  of  this, 
And  love  again —  in  Heaven  ? 

"Of  hearts  which  had  on  earth  been  one, 

By  death  asunder  riven, 
Why  does  the  one  that  has  been  reft 
Drag  off  in  grief  the  mourner  left. 

If  not  to  meet — in  Heaven? 

"The  warmest  love  on  earth  is  still 

Imperfect  when  'tis  given  ; 

But  there's  a  purer  clime  above, 

Where  perfect  hearts  in  perfect  love 

Unite  ;  and  this — is  Heaven. 

"  If  love  on  earth  is  but  "in  part  " 

As  light  and  shade  at  even  ; 
If  sin  doth  plant  a  thorn  between 
The  truest  hearts   there  is   I  ween, 

A  perfect  love — in  Heaven. 

"0  happy  world  !  0  glorious  place  ! 
Where  all  who  are  forgiven, 
Shall  find  their  loved  and  lost  below ; 
And  hearts,  like  meeting  streams,  shall  flow 
I  Forever  one — in  Heaven." 


196 


Joseph  Hart  and  his  hymns. 


"Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy." 

PON  many  occasions  of  deep 
religious  awakening  this  hymn 
is  announced  as  the  one  to  call 
forth  decision  for  Christ.  It  is 
associated  in  the  memory  of 
God's  people  with  very  many 
seasons  of  revival. 

The  author  was  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Hart,  who  was  born  of 
pious  parents  in  London  in 
1712.  In  1759,  he  published 
a  volume  of  "Hymns  on  Va- 
rious Subjects,  with  the  Author's  experience." 

In  his  preface,  he  says,  "  The  following  hymns  were 
composed  partly  from  several  passages  of  Scripture,  laid 
on  my  heart,  or  opened  to  my  understanding,  from  time 
to  time,  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  *  *  I  desire  wholly  to 
submit  myself,  to  the  all-wise  disposal  of  that  God,  the 
sweet  enlivening  influences  of  whose  Spirit  I  often  felt 
while  they  were  composing.  " 

Of  his  hymns  that  have  become  especially  endeared  to 
the  lovers  of  Zion,  we  may  mention  the  following,  com- 
mencing thus : — 

"  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come.  " 
"  Once  more  we  come  before  our  God.  " 
"  0  for  a  glance  of  heavenly  day.  " 
"  Prayer  is  appointed  to  convey.  " 
''Dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,  Lord.'' 
"  Once  more  before  we  part.  " 

Though  he  received  a  good  education,  and  was  occu- 
pied at  first  as  a  teacher  of  languages,  and  at  times  felt 


G 


W 


Hart  continued.  l^* 


anxiousabout  his  soul, yet  he  says :  "In  this  abomnmb^^^ 
state  I  continued  a  bold-faced  rebel  for  nine  years  not 
only  committing  acts  of  lewdness  myself,  bn  infecting 
Srs  also  with  the  poison  of  my  delusions/'  and  even 
'mi^so  far  as  to  write  a  work  on  "the  unreasonableness 
of  religion  "  *  *  "After  a  time  I  fell  into  a  deep  de- 
;  JiuleW'of  mind,  and,  shuuning  f  company  I  went 
about  alone  bewailing  my  sad  and  dark  con  to 

"  In  this  sad  state  I  went  moping  about  till  \^  mt 
Sunday,  1757,  when  I  happeiied  to  go  m  tj^e jfternoon 
to  the  Moravian  Chapel  in  Fetter  Lane      The  minister 
nreached  from  Rev.  iii.  10.     I  was  much  impressed 
^'"l  was  hardly  got  home,    when  I  felt  myself  melting 
away  into   a  stL'nge  soft m  ss  oi^  affection  ^^^^^^-^^^ 
meflinff  myself  on  my  knees  before  God.     My  horrors 
"ereSfmeJiately  expelled,  and  such  conifort  flowed  in- 
to my  heart  as  no  words  can  panit.     The  Lord,  by  his 
Spirit  of  love,  came,  not  in  a  visionary  manner  nto  my 
brain    but  with  such  divine  power  and  energy  mto  my 
soui'th' 1 1  was  lost  in  blisslul  amazement.     I  -led^^  , 
'What,  me.  Lord  ?'     His  Spirit  answered  in  me    Jes 
thee!'     I  objected,   '  But  I  have  ])een  bo  unspeakably 
V  le'ndwickid!'     The  answer  was,  '^V-y^^^'^^'^ 
Iv  and  fully ! '     The  alteration  I  then  felt  in  my  soul  Ma^ 
irsllenLd  palpable  as  that  which  is  eje-n-d^ 
a  person  staggering  and  almost  Bmkmg  under  a  burden, 
when  it  is  immediately  taken  from  his  Bhoulders      iears 
ran  in  streams  from  my  eyes  for  a  ^.«"«^d^^^^|^"^:  ^ 
and  I  was  so  swallowed  up  in  joy  and  thankfulness  th^^ 
I  hardly  knew  where  I  was.     I  threw  myself  willingly 
in  0  my  Saviour's  hands;  lay  weeping.at  hjs  f  *,  who^ 
ly  resigned  to  his  will,  and  only   beggmg/^f^J.  ^^^^^^^ 
if  He  were  graciously  pleased  to  permit  it,  be  ot  service 
to  S    Chu4  and  peVe.     Jesus  Chnst  and  Inm  criun- 
fied  is  now  the  only  thing  I  desire  to  know^JUhmgs 

^3i 


198  Hart  continued. 


to   me  are  rich  only  when  they  are  enriched  with  the 
blood  of  the  Lfimb. 

"The  week  before  Easter,  1757,  I  had  such  an  amaz- 
ing view  of  the  agony  of  Christ  in  the  garden,  as  I  know 
not  well  how  to  describe.  I  was  lost  in  wonder  and 
adoration  ;  and  the  impression  was  too  deep,  I  believe, 
ever  to  be  obliterated.  It  was  then  I  made  the  first  j^art 
of  my  hymn: — 

Come,  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God 
That  long  to  feel  the  cleansing  blood, 

In  pensive  pleasures  join  with  me 
To  sing  of  sad  Gethsemane." 

Many  of  his  hymns  were  but  counterparts  of  his  own 

experience.     He  had  been  among  the 

"  sinners  poor  and  needy, 
Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore  ;  " 

and  lor  many  years  had  been 

"  weary,   heavy  laden, 
Bruised  and   broken  by  the  fall.  " 

In  1760,  he  settled  in  London  as  pastor  of  the  "  Old 
Wooden  Meeting-house  in  Jewin  Street,"  built  nearly 
a  century  before  for  William  Jenkyn. 

Here  he  ministered  to  a  very  large  congregation,  mIio 
looked  upon  him  as  an  "  earnest,  eloquent  and  much  be- 
loved "  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

Though  laboring  under  great  affliction,  he  continued 
his  labors  among  this  people  till  May  24th,  1768,  when, 
at  the  age  of  fifty -six,  he  passed  up  to  his  reward. 

In  his  funeral  sermon  it  was  said,  "  He  was  like  the 
laborious  ox  that  dies  with  the  yoke  on  his  neck ;  so 
died  he  with  the  yoke  of  Christ  on  his  neck:  neither 
would  he  suffer  it  to  betaken  off:  for  ye  are  his  witnesses 
that  he  preached  Christ  to  you,  with  the  arrows  of  death 
sticking  in  him." 

A  great  exhibition- of  affection,  it  is  said,w"as  shown  in 
that  over  twenty  thousand  persons  attended   his  funeral. 


TJiomas  ITaweis's  hymn.  199 


Hymns  that  "Mean  Me." 

fFEW  days  ago,  says  Mr.  Ralph  Wells,  we  admitted 
six  mission  children  from  our  school  into  the  church. 
When  the  session  came  to  examine  the  candidates, 
one  of  the  elders  asked  a  little  girl  of  twelve  years, 
"  Maggie,  what  first  interested  your  heart  in  the  Saviour." 
"  It  was  one  of  those  large  hymns,  sir,  one  of  the  printed 
hymns  that  they  use  in  the  school.  The  hymn  was  that 
beautiful  one : — 

"'From  the  cross  uplifted  high, 

Where  the  Saviour  deigns  to  die,  • 

What  melodious  sounds  we  hear 
Bursting  on  the  ravished  ear; 
Love's  redeeming  work  is  done, 
Come  and  welcome,  sinner,  come.' 

"Oh  sir!"  said  this  child  fresh  from  her  tenement 
home,  "  It  was  those  kind  words  : — 

"  '  Come  and  welcome,  sinner,  come.' 

I  said  to  myself  that  means  me  ;  for,  if  it  means 'sinner,' 
it  is  for  ])oor  Maggie." 

fR.   Wells  says  that  whenever  he  hears  the  sweet 
hymn : — 
"Jesus  loves  me,  this  I  know, 
For  the  Bible  tells  me  so," 

it  recalls  an  incident  of  a  half-witted  colored  boy,  of  whom 
a  Sunday  school  teacher  said:  "Mr.  Wells,  you  needn't 
speak  to  him.  He  don't  know  anything. "  "But,"  says 
Mr.  Wells,  "I  did.  I  said  'What  is  your  name,  my 
son  ? '  He  looked  at  me  a  moment,  and  sloAvly  answered  : 
'J-i-m-m-y,  sir.'  'Can  you  tell  me  what  the  Bible  tells 
Jimmy.'  He  looked  all  around  the  room,  as  if  trying  to 
find  something,  and  then  looked  me  right  in  the  eye,  and 
said:  'The  Bible  says,  Jesus  loves  Jimmy.'" 


200  Miss  HavergaVs  hymn. 


Origin  of  a  Hymn  by  "Quite  a  Young  Girl." 

tN  reply  to  a  private  letter  sent  from  Brooklyn,  con- 
cerning a  hymn  that  is  now  beuig  widely  sung,  Miss 
Frances  Ridley  Havergal  writes  as  follows: — 

"  3fi/  Dear  Unknown  Friend  in  Jesus — Mrs.  S.  asked 
me  to  write  and  answer  myself  your  question  about  the 
hymn,  "  I  give  My  life  for  thee."  Yes,  it  is  mine,  and 
perhaps  it  may  interest  you  to  hear  how  nearly  it  went 
into  the  fire,  instead  of  nearly  all  over  the  world. 

"It  was,  I  think,  the  very  first  thing  I  ever  wrote  which 
could  be  called  a  hymn,  written  when  I  was  quite  a 
young  girl  (1859).  I  did  not  half  realize  what  I  was 
writing  about.  I  was  following  very  far  off,  always 
doubting  and  fearing.  I  think  I  had  come  to  Jesus  with 
a  trembling,  hem-touching  faith,  but  it  was  a  coming  in 
the  press,  and  behind,  never  seeing  His  face,  or  feeling 
sure  that  He  loved  me,  though  T  was  clear  that  I  could 
not  do  without  Him',  and  wanted  to  serve  and  follow 
Him. 

"  I  don't  know  how  I  came  to  write  it.  I  scribbled  it 
in  pencil  on  the  back  of  a  circular,  in  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  read  it  over  and  thought, "  Well,  this  is  not  poetry, 
anyhow !  I  won't  go  to  the  trouble  to  copy  this."  So  I 
reached  out  my  hand  to  put  it  into  the  fire  !  a  sudden 
impulse  made  me  draw  it  back ;  I  put  it,  crumpled  and 
singed,  into  my  pocket.  Soon  after  I  went  out  to  see  a 
dear  old  woman  in  an  alms  house.  She  began  talking  to 
me,  as  she  always  did,  about  her  dear  Saviour,  and  I 
thought  I  would  see  if  she,  a  simple  old  woman,  would 
care  for  these  verses,  which  I  felt  sure  nobody  else  would 
ever  care  to  read.  So  I  read  them  to  her,  and  she  was 
so  delighted  with  them  that,  when  I  went  back,  I  copied 
them  out,  and  kept  them,  and  now  the  Master  has  sent 


Miss  HavergaVs  hymn  continued.  201 


them  out  in  all  directions.     I  have  seen  tears  while  they 
have  been  sung  at  mission  services,  and  have  heard  of 
them  being  really  blessed  to  many." 
The  following  is  the  hymn : — 

"  I  gave  my  life  for  thee, 

My  precious  blood  I  shed, 
That  thou  might  st  ransomd  be, 

And  quickened  from  the  dead. 
I  gave,  I  gave  my  life  for  thee  ; 
What  hast  thou  given  for  me  ? 

«'My  Father's  house  of  light, 
My  glory  circled  throne, 
I  left  for  earthly  ni4ht, 

For  wanderings  sad  and  lone  ; 
I  left,  I  left  it  all  for  thee  : 
Hast  thou  left  aught  for  me  ? 

«'  I  suffered  much  for  thee, 

More  than  thy  tongue  can  tell, 

Of  bitt'rest  agony. 

To  rescue  thee  from  hell ; 

I've  borne,  Fve  borne  it  all  for  thee  : 

"What  hast  thou  borne  for  me  ? 

«'  And  I  have  brought  to  thee, 
Down  from  my  home  above, 
Salvation  full  and  free. 

My  pardon  and  my  love  ; 
I  bring,  I  bring  rich  gifts  to  thee : 
What  hast  thou  brought  to  me  ? 

"  0,  M  thy  life  be  given, 

Thy  tears  that  yet  remain. 
World  fetters  all  be  riven. 

Give  me  thy  joy  and  pain  ; 
Give  thou,  give  thou  thyself  to  me, 
And  I  will  welcome  thee!" 

:Miss  Havergal  is  the  voungest  daughter  of  Rev.  AY. 
H.  Havergal.  She  has  written'seventy-seven  hymns  and 
poems.     Her  father  wrote  about  one  hundred. 


202 


Reginald  Ueber. 


c; 


Southey's  Lines  on  the  Portrait  of  Heber. 

"  Yes,— such  as  these  were  Heber's  lineaments  ; 
•  Such  his  capacious  front, 
His  comprehensive  eye. 
His  open  brow  serene. 
Such  was  the  gentle  countenance  which  bore 

Uf  generous  feeling  and  of  golden  truth 
Sure  Nature's  sterling  impress  ;  never  there 
Unruly  passion  left 
Its  ominous  marks  infixed, 
Nor  the  worst  die  of  evil  habit  set 
An  inward  stain  engrained. 
Such  were  the  lips  whose  salient  playfulness 
Enlivened  peaceful  hours  of  private  life ; 
Whose  eloquence 
Held  congregations  open  eared, 
As  from  the  heart  it  flowed,  a  living  stream 
Of  Christian  wisdom,  pure  and  undefiled.  " 


"Yes,  to  the  Christian,  to  the  Heathen  world, 
HebLT,  thou  art  not  dead  — thou  canst  not  die  ! 
Nor  can  I  think  of  thee  as  lost. 
A  little  portion  of  this  little  isle 
At  first  divided  us;  then  half  the  globe; 
The  same  earth  held  us  still  ;  but  when, 
0  Reginald,  wert  thou  so  neur  as  now? 
'  Tis  but  the  falling  of  the  withered  leaf, 
The  breaking  of  a  shell, 
The  rending  of  a  veil ! 
0,  when  that  leaf  shall  fall, 
Tliat  shell  be  burst,  that  veil  be  rent,  may  (hen 
My  spirit  be  with  thine  !  " 

Rev.  Dr.  Turner,  who  followed  Ileber  to  the  same 
field  of  labor,  wrote  of  him  the  following  lines,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  bishop's  hymn,  "  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave : " 

"  Thou'art  gone  to  the  grave  ;  and  while  nations  bemoan  thee 
Who  drank  from  thy  lips  the  glad  tidings  of  peace, 
Yet,  grateful,  they  still  in  their  heart  shall  enthrone  thee, 
And  ne'er  shall  thy  name  from  their  memory  cease. '' 


W 


SsifljrirWBci  iy  J  L.  juTxure 


TINIE  OSOGDOir  DSIEVc  IISI£(CON/^ILa!i    (HIIEISEBSg  ODoED. 
i^2?gZ7  MISKOP  CCF  CALCITTTA. 


Reginald  Heber.  205 


Author  of  "From  Greenland's  icy  mountains. " 

f'^^EGINALD  HEBER,  D.  D.,  was  born  April  21, 
1783,  at  Malpas,  England.  His  father  had  the  same 
name,  and  was  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  that 
place.  Like  many  other  hymnists,  he  began  to  display 
piety  and  talent  from  early  childhood.  'He  could  not 
only  read  his  Bible  with  fluency  when  but  five  years  of 
age,  but  was  already  so  familiar  with  its  contents,  that 
when  his  father,  with  some  friends,  were  discussing  as  to 
the  book  where  a  particular  passage  could  be  found,  they 
turned  to  little  Reginald  for  information,  when  he  at  once 
named  both  the  book  and  chapter. 

Hearino:  the  conundrum  asked  one  dav:  "Where 
was  Moses  when  the  candle  went  out?"  he  answered  at 
once,  "  On  Mount  Nebo,  for  there  he  died,  and  it  may 
be  said  that  his  lamp  of  life  went  out. " 

At  seven  years  of  age  he  was  already  so  proficient  in 
Latin  that  he  translated    Phoedrus  into  English  verse. 

While  at  grammar  school  in  his  eight  year,  he  became 
so  absorbed  in  his  studies  that,  receiving  a  new  book,  he 
was  so  completely  "abstracted  in  it  that  he  was  not  in 
the  least  aware  of  a  'barring  out,'  which,  with  all  its 
accompanying  noise  and  confusion,  had  been  going 
on  for  a  couple  of  hours  around  him,  and  of  which  he 
became  conscious  as  the  increasing;  darkness  forced  him 
to  lay  down  his  book.  Well  did  his  brother  say,  "Reg- 
inald did  more  than  read  books,  he  devoured  them." 

His  heart  was  naturally  so  benevolent  that  while  on  a 
journey  to  his  boarding  school,  he  became  so  affected  bv 
the  story  of  a  poor  man,  that  he  gave  away  all  he  had, 
so  that  afterwards  they  found  it  "necessary  to  sew  the 
bank  notes,  given  him  for  his  half  year's  pocket  money 
in  school,  in  the  lining  of  his  pockets,  that  he  might  not 
give  them  away  in  charity  on  the  road. " 


r 


M 


206  Reginald  Heher  continued. 


When  about  fourteen  years  old  he  begged  permission 
of  his  mother  to  unite  with  her  in  partaking  of  the  sa- 
crament of  the  Lord's  supper  on  the  the  following  Sab- 
bath, to  which  his  happy  mother  consented  with  tears  of 
joy  and  affection. 

He  entered  college  in  1800,  and  in  the  following  year 
gained  a  prize  ibr  a  poem  on  "  The  Commencement  of  the 
New  Century."  After  this  followed  another  prize  po- 
em on  "  Palestine. "  The  reading  of  this  called  forth 
great  applause. 

Miss  Jermyn  refers  thus  to  his  father  who,  as  an  eye- 
witness, was  greatly  moved  by  the  occasion : — 

"  What  means  that  stifled  sob,  that  groan  of  joy, 
Why  fall  those  tears  upon  thy  furrowed  cheek? 
The  aged  father  hears  his  darling  boy. 
And  sobs  and  tears  alone  his  feelings  speak. " 

After  witnessing  the  hearty  applause  of  an  enraptured 
audience,  Heber  withdrew  from  the  scene,  and  for  some 
time  could  not  be  found  by  his  anxious  mother.  At  length 
to  her  surprize  and  joy,  she  came  across  him  in  his  pri- 
vate chamber,  where  he  was  seen  upon  bended  knees, 
laying  his  trophies  at  Jesus'  feet. 

After  entering  the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
he  became  rector  of  Hodnet,  in  Shropshire  in  1807. 

Improvement  in  church  singing  was  among  his  first 
efforts.  Writing  to  his  friend  Thornton,  he  says,  '*  My 
Psalm-singing  continues  bad.  Can  you  tell  me  where 
I  can  purchase  Cowper's  Olney  Hymns,  to  put  in  the 
seats?  Some  of  them  I  admire  much,  and  any  novelty 
is  likely  to  become  a  favorite,  and  draw  more  people  to 
join  in  singing." 

After  sixteen  ye^rs  of  pastoral  labors,  he  accepted  of 
an  appointment  to  go  to — 

" -India's  coral  strand.  " 

The  diocese,   committed  to  his  hands  as  bishop,  ex- 


Reynold  Heber  continued.  207 


tended  over  more  than  the  whole  of  India.  His  excessive 
labors  sank  him  to  the  grave  in  three  short  years. 

At  the  close  of  a  busy  day's  work,  he  entered  a  bath, 
where  his  exhausted  frame  was  soon  afterwards  found  a 
corpse.     This  took  place  at  Trichinopoly,  April  2,  1826. 

At  his  funeral  the  road  was  crowded  by  heathen  and 
Christian  natives,  who,  by  many  tears  and  sobs,  attested 
their  heart-felt  appreciation  of  his  services.  His  remains 
rest  amid  the  "coral  strand," — 

"Till  o'er  our  ransomed  nature 
The  Lamb  for  sinners  slain, 
Redeemer,  King,  Creator, 
In  bliss  returns  to  reign.  " 

A  monument  was  erected  by  his  friends  In  Ceylon, 
in  memory  of  his  labors  in  this  island  as  on  the  peninsula. 
So  that  his  name  is  also  embalmed  amid  "the  spicy 
breezes"  that — 

" blow  soft  o'er  Ceylon's  isle. '' 

There  was  a  time  when  he  could  say,  as  he  listened  to 
the  "joyful  sound"  from  a  great  multitude  of  Christian- 
ized heathen  voices, — 

" earth's  remotest  nation, 

Has  learned  Messiah's  name.  " 

At  a  Tamul  service  at  Tangore,  which  was  attended 
by  thirteen  himdred  native   Christians,   the  bishop  was 
greatly   moved    as  he    heard   so    many  but   lately   res- 
cued from  the  pollution  of  their  heathen  idolatry,  now 
joining  in  singing  the  sentiments  of  the  100th  psalm: — 
'•  We'll  crowd  Thy  gates  with  joyful  songs, 
High  as  the  heavens  our  voices  raise ; 
And  earth,  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues. 
Shall  fill  Thy  courts  with  sounding  praise.  " 

Said  he,  "For  the  last  ten  years  I  have  longed  to  wit- 
ness a  scene  like  this,  but  the  reality  exceeds  all  my  ex- 
pectation. Gladly  would  I  exchange  years  of  common 
life  for  one  such  day  as  this." 


1/ 


•"^^  Heher's  Hymn. 


Origin  of  "From  Greenland's  icy  mountains." 

tF  the  fifty-nine  elegant  hymns  written  by  Bishop 
Heber  none  are  so  widely  known  or  so  frequently 
sung  as  his  missionary  hymn. 

In  1819,  a  royal  letter  authorized  collections  to  be 
taken  in  every  church  and  chapel  in  England  connected 
with  the  establishment,  in  furtherance  of  the  Society  for 
Propagating  the  Gospel. 

On  the  evening  of  AVhitsunday,  which  w^as  the  day 
appointed  for  this  purpose,  Heber  had  engaged  to  deliver 
the  first  of  a  series  of  Sunday  evening  lectures,  in  the 
church  at  Wrexham,  which  was  in  charge  of  his  father- 
in-law,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shipley. 

On  the  Saturday  previous,  as  they  were  seated  around 
the  table  in  the  parsonage,  the  Dean  requested  his  son- 
in-law  to  write  something  for  them  to  sing  in  the  morn- 
ing, that  would  be  suitable  to  the  missionary  service. 
Heber  at  once  retired  from  the  circle  of  friends  to  a  cor- 
ner of  the  room. 

After  a  while  his  father-in-law  inquired,  "What  have 
you  written?"  Heber  then  read  the  first  three  verses, 
which  he  had  already  produced.  "There,  that  will  do 
very  well,"  said  the  Dean.  "No, — no,"  said  Heber, 
"the  sense  is  not  complete."  Accordingly  he  added  the 
fourth  verse,  commencing: — 

"  Waft,  -svaft,  ye  winds,  His  story.  " 

Next  morning  it  was  sung  In  the  church  at  AYrexham, 
and  soon  after  was  caught  up  as  the  grand  missionary 
hymn  of  the  church  universal,  reaching  "from  pole  to 
pole."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Raffles  was  in  possession  of  the 
original  manuscript,  from  which  it  is  seen  that  so  accu- 
rately was  it  written  at  first  that  he  had  occasion  to  alter 
but  one  word. 


C 


1; 


OREENLAXD.-   ICY    MOUNT  VIS'S. 


i 


Heber^s  hymns.  211 


Origin  of  "Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave." 

tN  the  biography  of  Bishop  Heber  it  is  said :  "  The  loss 
of  their  only  child  was  long  and  severely  felt  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heber;  her  father  could  never  think 
of  or  name  her  without  tears ;  and  his  private  devotions 
generally  concluded  with  an  earnest  prayer  that  he  might, 
at  his  last  hour,  be  found  worthy  to  rejoin  his  departed 
child.  To  the  feelings  which  this  bereavement  occasioned 
may  be  traced  the  production  of  the  following  lines: — 

'Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not  deplore  thee, 
Though  sorrows  and  darkness  encompass  the  tomb  ; 
The  Saviour  has  passed  through  the  portals  before  thee, 
And  the  lamp  of  his  love  is  thy  guide  through  the  gloom.'  " 

Heber  was  characterized  by  great  tenderness  of  heart. 
•He  says  in  a  letter  to  *a  friend,  that  owing  to  his  eyes 
being  so  blinded  with  tears,  it  took  him  two  days  to  pen 
the  lines  that  tell  of  the  departure  of  his  sainted  father, 
of  whose  end  he  says:  "A  smile  sat  on  the  pale  counte- 
nance, and  his  eyes  sparkled  brighter  than  I  ever  saw 
them.  From  this  time  he  spoke  but  little;  his  lips 
moved,  and  his  eyes  were  raised  upwards.  He  blessed 
us  again,  we  kissed  him,  and  found  his  lips  cold  and 
breathless. " 

The  vessel  that  took  him  to  India  had  a  detachment 
of  invalid  soldiers  on  board.  For  their  salvation  he  la- 
bored so  faithfully  that  they  exclaimed,  ''Only  think  of 
such  a  great  man  as  the  bishop  coming  betw^een  decks  to 
pray  with  such  poor  fellows  as  we  are. "  Then  again  he 
opened  his  heart  of  sympathy  to  an  afflicted  mother, 
whose  child  had  just  been  buried  in  an  ocean-grave.  "  At 
intervals,"  says  a  witness,  "I  hear  him  weeping  and 
})raying  for  her  in  his  own  cabin.  I  have  never  seen 
such  tenderness. " 


C. 


212 


Rowland  Hill. 


C 


Rowland  Hill  and  his  Hymns. 

fOWLAND  HILL  occupied  a  conspicuous  place 
among  tlie  champions  of  the  cross,  during  tlie  last 
century.  He  was  stimulated  and  encouraged  by  the 
advice  and  example  of  Berridge  and  Whitefield,  in  early 
life,  and  became,  like  them,  distinguished  for  his  ability 
to  reach  and  move  the  masses.  Not  unfrequently  would 
his  audiences  number  from  five  to  ten  thousand,  and 
sometimes  even  twenty  thousand. 

He  was  born  at  Hawkston,  England,  August  23, 
1744.  Dr.  Watts's  "Hymns  for  Children"  produced  a 
deep  religious  impression  upon  him  in  early  childhood. 
But  his  conversion  did  not  take  place  till  he  was  seven- 
teen. This  was  effected  through  the  instrumentality  of 
an  earnest  and  faithful  brother. 

He  became  at  once  decided  and  whole-hearted  in  his 
Christianity.  So  much  so  that  when  he  went  to  college  at 
Cambridge  he  said,  that,  on  account  of  his  religion,  "no- 
body ever  gave  me  a  cordial  smile,  except  the  old  shoe- 
black at  the  gate,  who  had  the  love  of  Christ  in  his  heart." 

The  report  of  his  piety  and  zeal  reaching  the  ears  of 
Berridge  and  Whitefield,  they  frequently  sent  him  words 
of  encouragement.  In  one  of  Whitefield's  letters  he 
refers  to  his  own  student  experience: — 

"  We  never  prospered  so  much  at  Oxford,  as  when  we 
were  hissed  at  and  reproached  as  we  walked  along  the 
street,  as  being  called  the  dung  an<l  off-scouring  of  all 
things.  That  is  a  poor  building  that  a  little  stinking 
breath  of  Satan's  vassals  can  throw  down.  Your  house 
I  trust  is  better  founded, — is  it  not  built  upon  a  rock? 

Lady    Huntingdon    is   in  town, — she  will 

rejoice  to  hear  that  you  are  under  the  cross."  Berridge 
wrote,  "  I  feel  my  heart  go  out  to  you  whilst  I  am  writing, 
and  can  embrace  you  as  my  second  self.     How  soft  and 


li 


ROWLAND  RILL. 


Rowland  Hill  continued.  215 


r 


sweet  are  those  silken  cords  which  the  dear  Redeemer 

twines  and  ties  about  the  hearts  of  his  cliildren 

I  think  your  chief  work  for  a  season,  will  be  to  break  up 
fallow  ground."  To  this  M^ork  Mr.  Hill  was  inclined, 
and  well  fitted,  both  by  nature  and  Providence. 

That  there  was  much  "fallow  ground"  in  those  times, 
will  appear  from  some  of  his  own  statements. 

Two  days  after  the  receipt  of  Berridge's  letter,  he  says 
in  his  diary,  of  ona  of  his  meetings: — 

"  There  was  such  a  noise  with  beating  of  pans,  shovels, 
blowing  of  horns  and  ringing  of  bells,  that  I  could  scarce 
hear  myself  speak.  Though  we  were  pelted  with  much 
dirt,  and  eggs,  I  was  enabled  to  preach  out  my  sermon." 

The  irregularity  of  these  student-efforts  eventually 
caused  six  different  bishops  to  refuse  him  orders  as  deacon. 
In  1773,  however,  he  was  enabled  to  write:  "Through 
the  kind  and  unexpected  interposition  of  Providence,  I 
was  ordained  without  any  condition,  or  compromise 
whatever."  This  took  place  through  Dr.  Wills,  the  aged 
bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells. 

Believing  that  the  "  field  is  the  world,"  he  said, 
"Though  I  wander  about,  I  stick  tomy  jparlsh.^^  Drawn 
by  his  flaming  zeal,  his  apt  illustrations,  and  his  im- 
pressive oratory  the  people  flocked  around  him  in  innu- 
merable numbers,  in  churches,  chapels,  market-places, 
fields,  and  everywhere.  "I  like  to  go  and  hear  Rowland 
Hill,"  said  Sheridan,  "because  his  ideas  come  red-hot 
from  the  heart."  At  one  time,  he  said  :  "  Because  I  am 
in  earnest,  men  call  me  an  enthusiast.  But  I  am  not ; 
mine  are  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness.  When  I 
first  came  into  this  jiart  of  the  country,  I  was  walking 
on  yonder  hill;  I  saw  a  gravel-pit  fall  in,  and  bury  three 
human  beings  alive.  I  lifted  up  my  voice  for  help  so 
loud  that  I  was  heard  in  the  town  below,  at  a  distance 
of  a  mile;  help  came,  and  rescued  two  of  the  poor  sufier- 


216 


Rowland  Hill. 


ers.  No  one  called  me  an  enthusiast  then;  and  when  I 
see  eternal  destruction  ready  to  fall  upon  })Oor  sinners, 
and  about  to  entomb  them  irrecoverably  in  an  eternal 
mass  of  woe,  and  call  aloud  on  them  to  escape,  shall  I 
be  called  an  enthusiast  now?" 

In  1783,  Rowland  Hill's  friends  built  for  him  the 
Surrey  Chapel,  that  would  hold  three  thousand  persons. 
The  site  was  upon  what  was  called  "one  of  the  worst 
spots  in  London." 

In  1783,  Mr.  Hill  published  a  "Collection  of  Psalms 
and  Hymns,"  which  passed  through  many  editions. 
In  the  preface,  he  says  of  the  hymns,  "Some  of  them  are 
by  no  means  the  better  for  being  entirely  new."  How 
many  of  them  were  his  own  is  not  certainly  known.  In 
1790,  he  issued  his  "Divine  Hymns  for  the  Use  of 
Children,"  which  were  corrected  by  Cowper.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  specimen  of  one  of  them : — 

"  Dear  Jesus,  let  an  infant  claim 
The  favour  to  adore  thy  name; 
Thou  wast  so  meek  that  babes  might  be 
Encouraged  to  draw  iieai  to  thee. 

"My  gracions  Saviour,  I  believe 
Thou  canst  a  little  "hilJ  receive; 
Thy  tender  love  for  us  is  free, 
And  why  not  love  poor  sinful  me?" 

A  number  of  his  hymns  were  wa-itten  to  be  sung  at  the 
close  of  his  sermons.  This  was  the  case  with  "The  Fu- 
neral of  old  Bigotry,"  beginning, 

"  Here  lies  old  Bigotry,  abhorr'd 
By  all  that  love  our  common  Lord." 

and  closing  with  the  verse : — 

"Let  names,  and  sectcS,  and  parties  fall; 
Let  Jesus  Christ  be  all  in  all. 
Thus,  like  thy  saints  above,  shall  we 
Be  one  with  each  other  as  one  with  thee." 


After  preaching  on  Psalm,  xx,  7,  8,  he  introduced  his 


c: 


w 


Roidand  Hill  continued.  219 


popular  hymn,  that  was  sung  with  wonderful  effect  by 

an  immense  congregation,  commencing, 

"  Come,  thou  incarnate  word. 
Gird  on  thy  mighty  sword." 

As  he  lay  upon  his  death-bed,  watching  his  approach- 
ing end,  he  was  heard  repeating  the  language  of  the  fol- 
lowing beautiful  hymn.  He  had  written  it  for  the  com- 
fort of  a  dying  member  of  his  congregation.  It  is  found 
in  many  of  the  hymn-books  now  in  use : — 

"  Gently,  my  Saviour,  let  me  down 

To  slumber  in  the  arms  of  death ; 

I  rest  my  soul  on  thee  alone, 

E'en  till  my  last  expiring  breath. 
"  Death's  dreadful  sting  has  lost  its  power ; 

A  ransomed  sinner,  saved  by  grace, 

Lives  but  to  die,  and  die  no  more. 

Unveiled  to  see  thy  blissful  face. 
"  Soon  will  the  storm  of  life  be  o'er, 

And  I  shall  enter  endless  rest : 

There  shall  I  live  to  sin  no  more. 

And  bless  thy  name  forever  blest." 

The  following  lines,  says  his  nephew,  were  perpetually 
on  his  lips  for  nearly  a  year  before  he  died,  and  were  tiie 
last  words  he  tried  to  utter  in  the  solemn  hour  of  dissso- 
lution: — 

"  And  when  I'm  to  die, 

Receive  me,  I'll  cry. 

For  Jesus  hath  loved  me,  I  cannot  tell  why." 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1833,  in  the  eighty-ninth  year 
of  his  pilgrimage,  Mr.  Hill  calmly  closed  his  eyes  in 
death,  without  a  sigh  or  groan,  or  any  other  evidence  of  a 
last  struo:gle.  "Those  about  him  could  scarcely  believe 
he  was  gone,  so  peaceful  was  his  end — so  gently,  in  an- 
swer to  his  own  hymn-prayer,  was  he  let  down  to  slumber 
in  the  arms  of  death.'' 

He  was  buried  under  the  pulpit  in  Surrey-chapel, 
from  which  he  had  proclaimed  the  gospel  fifty  years. 


C 


c 


220  Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon. 


Author  of  "When  thou, my  righteous  Judg^e  shalt  come." 

fADY  HUNTINGDON  not  only  left  to  the  world 
one  of  the  brightest  examples  of  a  life  wholly  conse- 
crated to  Christ,  but  also  the  above  hymn,  that  has 
been  echoing  in  the  praises  of  the  sanctuary  for  over  a 
century.  Her  soul  was  first  awakened  to  realize  its  des- 
tiny and  danger  while  attending  the  funeral  of  a  play- 
mate, when  but  nine  years  of  age. 

The  sights  and  sounds  of  that  day  left  an  impress  that 
the  bright  future,  that  gilded  her  girlhood  days,  could 
not  dispel.  Often  would  she  visit  that  giassy  mound  of 
her  departed  friend,  and  then  steal  away  to  the  little 
closet,  to  pour  out  her  soul  in  earnest  supplication,  and 
ponder  over  the  questions  whicli,  in  later  years,  she  so 
vividly  expressed  in  her  hymn : — 

"When,  thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  shalt  come 
To  take  thy  ransomed  people  home, 
Shall  I  among  them  stand  ? 
Shall  such  a  worthless  worm  as  T, 
Who  sometimes  am  -afraid  to  die, 
Be  found  at  thy  right  hand?" 

When  twenty-one  years  of  age,  she  was  married  to 
Theophilus  Hastings,  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  and  introduced 
to  all  the  splendors  and  excitements  of  high  English  life. 

This  marriaije  brought  her  into  contact  with  her  sister- 
in-law,  Lady  Margaret  Hastings,  who,  one  day  remarked 
that,  since  she  had  known  and  believed  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  for  life  and  salvation,  she  had  been  as  hapi)y 
as  an  angel." 

This  testimony  stirred  again  the  depths  of  her  soul. 
Her  early  convictions  and  fear  of  death  now  returned, 
and  so  disturbed  her  bodily  health, that  she  M'as  thrown 
upon  a  sick  bed,  and  for  some  time  seemed  fast  tending 
towards  the  grave.     At  length,  she  was  enabled  to  lift 


'  ^  ■(^ynZvrtJJ^'^^^^^ 


Lady  Huntingdon  continued.  223 


up  her  cry  to  God  as  afterwards  repeated  in  her  hymn, — 

"Thy  pardoning  voice,  0  let  me  hear, 
To  still  my  unbelieving  fear,  " 

when  in  a  glad  moment  the  sound  of  peace  and  pardon 
echoed  through  her  soul,  her  bodily  disease  at  the  same 
time  took  a  favorable  turn,  and  she  was  in  a  double  sense 
"a  new  creature." 

Writing  to  Charles  Wesley  she  says,  "  How  solid  is 
the  jieace,  and  how  divine  the  joy  that  springs  from  an 
assurance  that  we  are  united  to  the  Saviour  by  a  living 
faith.  Blessed  be  his  name.  I  have  an  abiding  sense 
of  his  presence  with  me,  notwithstanding  the  weakness 
and  unworthiness  I  feel,  and  an  intense  desire  that  he 
may  be  glorified  in  the  salvation  of  souls. "  Among  the 
many  evidences  of  this  "  intense  desire"  we  may  men- 
tion the  following.  A  workman  who  was  repairing 
her  garden  wall  she  earnestly  urged  to  take  some  thought 
concerning  eternity  and  the  state  of  his  soul.  Years  after- 
Avards  speaking  to  another  upon  the  same  subject,  she 
said,  "Thomas,  I  fear  you  never  pray,  or  look  to  Christ 
for  salvation.  " 

"  Your  ladyship  is  mistaken,  "  replied  the  man  ;  •'  I 
heard  what  passed  between  you  and  James  at  the  garden 
wall,  and  the  word  you  meant  for  him  took  effect  on  me. " 

"How  did  you  hear  it?"  she  asked. 

"I  heard  it,"  Thomas  answered,  "on  the  other  side  of 
the  garden,  through  a  hole  in  the  wall,  and  I  shall  never 
forget  the  impression  I  received. " 

One  day  at  court,  the  then  Prince  of  Wales  asked, 
"where  is  my  Lady  Huntingdon,  that  she  is  so  seldom 
here?"  A  Lady  of  fashion  replied  with  a  sneer,  "I  suppose 
praying  with  her  beggars."  The  prince  shook  his  head, 
saying,  "When  I  am  dying,  I  think  I  shall  be  happy  to 
seize  the  skirt  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  mantle,  to  carry  me 
up  with  her  to  heaven. "     Thus    expressing  the  senti- 


r 


224 


Lady  Huntingdon  continued. 


ment  contained  in  her  hymn, — 

"  Among  thy  saints  let  me  be  found, 
AVhene'er  th'archangel's  trump  shall  sound." 

In  her  preface  to  her  hj^mns  she  says,  "And  now,  rea- 
der, it  is  neither  your  approbation  of  these  hymns  nor 
the  objections  you  can  make  to  them  that  is  the  material 
point;  you  are  a  creature  of  a  day,  and  your  heart,  with 
trembling,  often  tells  you  tliis  truth.  Look  well  then, 
for  a  refuge  from  the  sins  of  your  life  past,  and  from  the 
just  fears  of  death  and  judgment  fast  approaching.  This 
is  the  grand  point  which  lieth  altogether  between  God 
and  thy  own  soul.  And  be  assured  that  nothing  can 
bring  comfort  in  life  or  death  to  thee,  a  sinner  (and  such 
thou  now  standest  before  God )  but  a  Saviour  so  full  and 
complete  as  Jesus  is  found  to  be." 

Mr.  Miller  says,  "Although  the  Countess  Avas  notmucli 
known  as  a  hymn-writer,  yet  it  is  proved  beyond  doubt 
that  she  was  the  author  of  a  few  hymns  of  great  excel- 
lence." Her  collection  for  use  in  her  chapels  amounted 
to  317  hymns,  in  the  fourth  edition  of  which  appeared 
the  one  referred  to  before,  beginning:. 

"  Oh  !  -when  my  righteous  Judge  shall  come." 

Originally  it  formed  a  second  part  of  a  piece  bn  the 
Judgment  Day,  which  is  preceded  by  a  first  part,  that 
cctmmenced : — 

"  We  soon  shall  hear  the  midnight  cry." 

"When  I  gave  myself  to  the  Lord,"  said  she,  "  I  like- 
wise devoted  to  him  all  my  fortune."  This  for  most  of 
her  life  amounted  to  an  income  of  about  sixty  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  and  when  these  means  did  not  reach  all 
her  demands  she  sold  her  jewelry  which  she  laid  aside, 
Avhen  she  found  the  pearl  of  great  price.  For  these  she 
realized  nearly  thirty-five  hundred  dollars,  with  which 
she  built  a  chapel  near  her  residence. 


r 


Lady  Huntingdon  continued.  225 


This  was  the  beginning  of  her  l'^  ^^--k  f  .^'f'"  ° 
chapels  by  means  of  which  she  songht  *»  ^''^  ''^  1*;" 
ishing  mises.  She  assiste<l,  and  associated  «  "  '  "^tte, 
the  Wesleys,  Whitefield,  Berridge,  Romaine,  foplady, 
D«ldr  te  and  others  whose  names  became  so  lunnnous 
h^Uiehiltory  of  tlie  great  awakening  o  the  eighteenth 
een  urv  At  the  time  of  her  death  her  chapels  numbered 
si xtv-seven  To  provide  ministers  for  these  she  founded 
T.lStTtInn  at  her  own  expense,  at  Trevecca,  South 
Wafe?  whlrwi  Idicated  by'  White8eld  on  the  sixty- 

'^trroSil'Sont^tltheEstablished  Church 
butSditnecees^ry  alter  ecclesujstrcaijroeeedn^^^^^^^^^ 
hroiicrht  ao-ainst  her  ministers.  Shortly  betore  Her  aeaui 
U;rg!:JSon  was  formed  which  --^^^^^^^ 
name  In  1792  her  college  was  removed  to  CliesiiuDt, 
where  it  has  been  flourishing  ever  smce 
She  knew  by  sweet  experience  what  it  was 

"  To  see  thy  smiling  face.  " 
As  she  approached  the  end  of  life's  journey  there  seemed 
to  be  Bunse\  glories  that  gilded  the  horizon ;  coming  from 
her  chamber  one  morning,  her  countenance  lit  up  wi  h 
— noy  she  said,  "the^Lord  hath  been  present  with 
~rif  t'his  morning  in  a  --f  ^^^^  "--:^;;^^^^^^^^ 
means  to  convey  to  my  mind  I  \"«^  "f  ^^  ^J^"^,^,!^^ 
approaching  departure,  my  soul  is  filled  with  gloiy 

^T^tr'retrel^TS  vessel  was  the 

nirof  Wih^SlL  cord  that  held  her  to  earth 
aXhus  in  her  eighty-fourth  year  she  pe-e^^^^^^^^ 
to  those  mansions,  where,  as  she  says  in  the  closing  veise 

of  her  hymn : —  . 

u  . loudest  of  the  throng  1 11  sing 

While  heaven's  resounding  mansions  ring 
With  shouts  of  sovereign  grace.  " 


226  Lady  Huntingdon's  hymn. 


What  if  my  name  should  be  left  out 
When  Thou  for  them  shalt  call.  " 


^  SOLDIER,  mortally  wounded,  was  lying  in  a  hos- 
"^  pital  dying.  All  was  still ;  he  had  not  spoken  for 
some  time.  His  last  moment  was  just  at  hand. 
Suddenly  the  silence  was  broken,  and  the  attending  sur- 
geon was  startled  by  the  voice  of  the  dying  man  uttering, 
clear  and  strong,  the  single  word,  "  Here ! " 

"What  do  you  want? ^'  asked  the  surgeon,  hastening 
to  his  cot.  A  moment  elapsed.  There  was  a  seeming 
struggle  after  recollection;  then  the  lips  of  the  dying 
soldier  mumbled,  "Nothing;  but  it  was  roll-call  in  heaven, 
and  I  w^as  answering  to  my  name." 

These  were  his  last  words  on  earth. 

tAID  a  pious  father  in  writing  to  his  friends,  "  On 
January  last  I  dreamed  that  the  day  of  judgment  was 
come.  I  saw  the  Judge  on  his  great  white  throne, 
and  all  nations  were  gathered  before  him.  My  wife  and 
I  Avere  on  the  right  hand ;  but  I  could  not  see  my  child- 
ren.    I  said,  I  cannot  bear  this ;  I  must  go  and  seek  them. 

"  I  went  to  the  left  hand  of  the  Judge,  and  there  found 
them  all  standing  in  the  utmost  despair.  As  soon  as 
they  saw  me,  they  caught  hold  of  me  and  cried,  "  O !  fath- 
er we  will  never  part."  I  said,  "My  dear  children,  I 
am  come  to  try,  if  possible,  to  get  you  out  of  this  awful 
situation."  So  I  took  them  all  with  me,  but  when  Ave 
came  near  the  Judge  I  thought  he  cast  an  angry  look, 
and  said,  "What  do  thy  children  with  thee  now?  They 
would  not  take  thy  warning  when  on  earth,  and  they 
shall  not  share  with  thee  the  crown  in  heaven ;  depart  ye 
cursed. " 

At  these  words  I  awoke  bathed  in  tears.  A  while 
after  this,  as  we  were  all  sitting  together  on  a  Sabbath 

r  g)/ 


Lady  Huntingdon'' s  hymns.  227 


evening,  I  related  to  them  my  dream.  No  sooner  did  I 
Ijegin  than  first  one,  and  then  another,  yea,  all  of  them, 
hurst  into  tears,  and  God  fastened  conviction  on  their 
hearts.     Five  of  them  now  rejoice  in  God  their  Saviour. " 

fN"  old  lady,  who  was  an  inveterate  smoker,  had  a 
dream  one  night,  in  which  she  thought,  as  she  stood 
before  the  great  white  throne  and  the  books  were 
opened,  her  name  could  not  be  found  in  the  book  of  life. 
Feeling  sure  that  it  was  there,  she  entreated  that  it 
might  be  searched  for  again.  As  the  keen  eye  of  the 
Judge  went  up  and  down  the  list,  he  said,  to  her  amaze- 
ment, '•  It  cannot  be  found. "  With  great  agony  she 
begged  that  he  might  but  look  tlirough  the  book  again  ; 
when,  after  a  while,  she  was  told,  "Yes,  here  it  is  at  the 
corner  of  a  page,  but  it  is  hard  to  find,  as  it  is  covered 
over,  and  nearly  blotted  out  with  tobacco  smoke." 

This  so  alarmed  her,  that  she  awoke  from  the  dream, 
and,  as  she  feared  that  by  persisting  in  sending  up  her 
smoke,  it  might  entirely  obscure  her  name,  she  threw 
away  her  pipe.  Afterward  she  could  calmly  join  in 
singing  the  second  verse  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  hymn : — 

"  I  love  to  meet  Thy  people  now, 
Before  Thy  feet  with  them  to  bow, 

Though  vilest  of  them  all ; 
But — can  I  bear  the  piercing  thought — 
What  if  my  name  should  be  left  out, 
When  Thou  for  them  sbalt  call !  " 


f  DISCONSOLATE  believer  dreamed  one  Sunday 
night  that  a  hand  was  held  before  her,  and  for  a  long 
time  she  wondered  what  it  meant.  At  length  a  finger 
pointed  to  the  palm  of  the  hand.  With  uplifted  head 
and  open  eyes  she  traced  the  words:  "Behold,  I  have 
graven  ihee  upon  the  palm  of  my  hand."  Oh!  her  de- 
light !  her  joy !  as  she  saw  her  name  thus  engraved. 


228 


Lady  Huntingdon'' s  hymn. 


A  Timely  Interference. 

tR.  LoAvell  Mason  relates  a  sad  "fix"  they  were  in 
while  he  was  acting  as  organist  and  leader  of  the 
singing,  at  the  Bowdoin  St.  Church,  Boston. 
He  says,  "  The  whole  hymn  was  first  read  by  the 
minister,  and  then,  just  before  the  singing-exercise  com- 
menced, the  direction  was  given,  *  Omit  the  second  stanza. ' 
The  following  are  the  first  three  stanzas,  and  the  con- 
nection between  the  first  and  third  stanzas  will  be  seen: 

'  When  thou,  my  righteous  Judge  shalt  come 
To  take  thy  ransomed  people  home, 

Shall  I  among  them  stand? 
Shall  such  a  Avorthless  worm  as  T, 
Who  sometimes  am  afraid  to   die, 
Be  found  at  thy  right  hand  ? 

'  I  love  to  meet  thy  people  now, 
Before  thy  feet  with  them  to  bow, 

Though  vilest  of  them  all ; 
But — can  I  bear  the  piercing  thought^ 
What  if  my  name  should  be  left  out 

When  thou  for  them  shalt  call? 

'  0  Lord,  prevent  it  by  thy  grace  : 
Be  thou  my  only  hiding-place 

In  this  the  accepted  day; 
Thy  pardoning  voice,  oh,  let  me  hear, 
To  still  my  unbelieving  fear, 

Nor  let  me  fall,  1  pray.' 

"  The  organist  did  not  perceive  the  fearful  connection 
betv/een  the  first  and  third  stanzas  until  a  moment  be- 
fore it  was  time  to  commence  the  latter,  when,  startled 
and  terrified,  he  cried  out,  'Sing  the  second  stanza!' just 
in  time  to  avoid  the  utterance  of  the  frightful  petition.  " 

"  Warm  were  the  thanks  expressed  by  members  of  the 
congregation  after  the  service  for  their  deliverance  from 
the  terrible  moral  collision  with  which  they  were 
threatened. " 


G 


Two  incidents.  229 


Amusing  Mistakes. 

tN  the  parish  church  of  Fettercairn  a  custom  existed 
of  the  precentor,  on  communion  Sabbaths,  reading 
out  each  single  line  of  the  psalm  before  it  was  sung  by 
the  congregation.  This  practice  gave  rise  to  a  some- 
what unlucky  introduction  of  a  line  from  the  first  Psalm. 
In  most  churches  in  Scotland,  the  communion  tables  are 
placed  in  the  centre  of  the  church.  After  sermon  and 
prayer,  the  seats  round  these  tables  are  occupied  by  the 
communicants,  while  a  psalm  is  being  sung. 

On  one  communion  Sunday,  the  precentor  observed  the 
noble  family  of  Eglantine  approaching  the  tables,  and 
likely  to  be  kept  out  by  those  who  pressed  in  before  them. 
Beino-  very  zealons  for  their  accommodation,  he  called 
out  to  an  individual  whom  he  considered  to  be  the  principal 
obstacle  in  clearing  the  passage,  •'  Come  back,  Jock,  and 
let  in  the  noble  family  of  Eglantine;"  and  then,  turning 
to  his  psalm-book,  he  took  up  his  duty,  and  went  on  to 
read  the  line, 

"  Xor  stand  in  the  sinners'  way.  " 

^HE  ORKNEY  HERALD  says  that  during  the  sing- 
M  ing  of  the  first  Psalm  in  the  parish  church  of  Birsay, 
a  goose  entered  and  quietly  waddled  up  the  passage 
towards  the  pulpit. 

The  precentor  got  off  the  track  with  the  music,  and 
seemed  unable  to  "go  on." 

The  minister  observing  the  goose,  leaned  over  the  side 
of  the  pulpit,  and,   addressing  the  officer  of  the  church, 

gaid,  "R ,  put  out  the  goose."     The  functionary, 

not  observing  the  presence  of  the  feathered  parishioner, 
and  supposing  that  he  meant  the  music-blunderer, 
marched  up  and  collared  him,  saying  at  the  time,  "  Come 
out  o'  that,  fallow. " 


230 


John  JTuss. 


^' 


Singing  in  the  Flames  of  Martyrdom. 

tOHN  HUSS,  the   martyr,  could  trutlifully  say,   that 
when  shielded  with  Christ's  blood  and  righteousness — 

"  'Mid  flaming  worlds  in  these  arrayed, 
With  joy  shall  I  lift  up  my  head.  ' 

For  his  faitlifulness  in  opposing  the  errors  of  Rome, 
and  iu  bringing  about  a  revival  of  primitive  Christianity 
he  was  sentenced  to  be  burned   alive  July,  1415. 

A  band  of  eight  hundred  soldiers,  attended  by  an 
immense  crowd  of  spectators,  led  him  out  of  the  city  into 
a  meadow  as  the  place  of  execution.  He  was  strijiped 
of  his  priestly  garments,  and  on  his  head  was  placed  a 
mitre  of  paper,  on  which  devils  were  painted,  and  the 
inscription,  ^'A  ring-leader  of  Heretics.  ^^ 

When  he  came  to  the  stake,  he  threw  himself  upon  his 
knees,  sung  a  psalm,  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he  prayed : 
"Into  thy  hands,  O  Lord,  I  commit  my  spirit.  Thou 
hast  redeemed  me.  Assist  me  that  with  a  firm  mind, 
by  the  most  powerful  grace,  I  may  undergo  this  most 
awful  death,  to  which  I  am  condemned  for  i^reaching 
Thy  most  holy  gospel.   Amen." 

Bundles  of  wood  and  straw  were  piled  around  his  bare 
feet,  and  when  the  chain  was  placed  on  his  neck,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Welcome  this  chain  for  Christ's  sake."  As 
the  faggots,  at  length,  reached  as  high  as  his  neck,  he 
was  called  upon  to  recant,  to  which  he  replied,  "No,  no, 
what  I  taught  I  am  willing  to  seal  with  my  blood." 

As  the  fire  was  kindled  and  blazed  up  around  him, 
ITuss  sang  a  hymn  with  a  loud  voice,  which  was  heard 
above  the  cracking,  and  roaring  of  the  flames. 

Jerome  of  Prague,  an  associate  of  Huss,  also  followed 
in  his  footsteps,  and  suffered  martyrdom.  As  the  fag- 
ots began  to  blaze  around  him  he  sang  the  liymn  "Hail, 
Festal  Day"  in   a  loud  voice   until   he  was  suffocated. 


c; 


li 


Edmund  Jones* 


233 


Author  of  *'Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast." 


ANY  hymn  writers  have  pro- 
duced but  one  choice  hymn  by 
which  their  names  are  remem- 
bered and  revered.  It  was  thus 
with  Rev.  Edmund  Jones. 

Though  he  passed  from  earth 
over  a  century  ago,  his  precious 
hymn  still  lives,  and  will 
doubtless  live  on  as  long  as 
there  are  penitent  sinners  to 
whom  the  church  would  say : — 

"  Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast 
A  thousand  thoughts  revolve. 
Come,  with  your  guilt  and  fear  oppress'd, 
And  make  this  last  resolve.  ' 

In  some  collection  of  hymns  the  first  line  reads— 
"  Come,  trembling  sinner,  in  whose  breast, " 
and  the  first  line  of  the  last  verse  is  altered  to  read — 

"  I  cannot  perish  if  1  go, 

instead  of — 

"  I  can  but  perish  if  I  go.  " 

He  was  born  at  Cheltenham,  England,  and  born  again 
early  in  life,  as  appears  from  the  record  given  of  him  in 
the  Baptist  church  at  Upton-on-Severn.  While  young 
he  was  sent  to  Bristol  to  pursue  his  studies  for  the  min- 
istry, under  the  Rev.  Bernard  Fosket.  In  his  nineteenth 
year  he  was  called  to  serve  the  Baptist  church  at  Exeter 
on  trial.  His  probation  proving  satisfactory,  he  was 
ordained  in  1743.  His  church  originally  had  no  singing 
in  divine  service.     It  was  first  introduced  in  1759. 

He  spent  the  remaining  twenty  years  of  his  life  among 
this  people,  and  added  one  hundred  members  to  the 
church.     He  died  April  15,  1765,  aged  forty-three  years. 


G 


W 


234:  Adoniram  Judson. 


Judson  and  his  Hymns. 

fDONIRAM  JUDSON  is  a  name  that  is  luminous  in 
the  history  of  early  missions,  and  as  he   wrote  a  few 
hymns,    he   deserves  a  place   in   the    list  of  hymn- 
writers.     He  was  a  son  of  a  Congregational  minister  of  the 
same  name.    His  native  place  was  Maiden,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  born,  August  9,   1788. 

When  but  four  years  of  age,  he  seemed  to  foreshadow 
his  future  career.  Gathering  the  children  of  the  neigh- 
borhood around  him,  he  was  wont  to  mount  a  chair,  and 
go  through  a  preaching  service  with  marked  earnestness. 
His  favorite  hymn  upon  these  occasions  was  one  of  Watts's, 
commencing, 

"'Go,  preach  my  gospel,'  saith  the  Lord." 

During  his  course  of  studies  at  Providence  college,  a 
circumstance  occurred  that  changed  the  whole  future  of  his 

life.    In  his  class  was  a  young  man  named  E ,  to  whom 

he  was  warmly  attached,  and  by  whose  influence  he  was 
led  into  professed  infidelity,  to  the  great  grief  of  his  de- 
voted parents. 

Starting  out  on  a  travelling  tour  at  the  close  of  his 
school,  Judson  assumed  another  name  and  joined  a  the- 
atrical company  in  New  York.  Whenever  the  thought 
of  a  mother's  tears  would  occur,  he  tried  to  soothe  his 
conscience,  by  saying,  "  I  am  in  no  danger,  I  am  only 
seeing  the  world,  the  dark  side  of  it,  as  well  as  the  bright." 
After  a  while,  pursuing  his  journey  westward,  he  stopped 
at  a  country  inn.  As  the  landlord  took  him  to  his  bed- 
room, he  said :  "  I  am  obliged  to  place  you  next  door  to 
a  young  man,  who  is  exceedingly  ill,  probably  in  a  dying 
state,  but  I  hope  it  will  occasion  you  no  uneasiness." 

It  proved,  however,  a  very  restless  night;  groans  were 
frequently  heard,  and  other  sounds  that  made  him  think 
of  Eternity.     Alone,  and  in  the  dead  of  night,  he  felt 


Juclson  continued.  237 


the  props  of  his  infidelity  give  way.  Then  he  would 
try  to  shame  his  fears,  by  thinking  what  his  witty,  clear- 
minded,  intellectual  E would  say  to  such  consummate 

boyishness. 

At  last,  morning  came,  and  the  bright  flood  of  light, 
which  poured  into  his  chamber,  dispelled  all  his  super- 
stitious illusions.  Going  in  search  of  the  landloid,  he 
made  inquiry  about  his  fellow-lodger. 

"He  is  dead,"  was  the  reply.  "Dead!"  'J  Yes,  he 
is  gone,  poor  fellow!"  "Do  you  know  who  it  was?" 
"  O  yes,  it  was  a  young  man  from  Providence  College — 
a  very  fine  fellow,  his  name  was  E ." 

Judson  was  completely  stunned.  He  knew  not  what 
to  say  or  do.  "Dead — Lost"  were  the  two  words  that 
kept  ringing  in  his  head.  He  could  go  no  further  in 
his  journey.  This  death-scene  of  his  infidel  companion, 
was  the  pivot  on  which  turned  his  destiny,  both  for  time 
and  eternity. 

Judson  afterwards  entered  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Andover,  became  a  decided  Christian,  and  after  reading 
the  "  Star  in  the  East,"  resolved  to  become  a  Missionary. 

After  marrying  Miss  Ann  H.  Hasseltine,  a  young 
Christian  lady  as  earnest  and  devoted,  as  she  was  accom-^ 
plished  and  beautiftul,  the  two  set  sail  for  the  realms  of 
heathen  darkness,  on  the  19th  of  February,  1812. 

Just  i\s  they  were  getting  under  way  with  their  mis- 
sionary work  at  Ava,  the  Capital  of  Burmah,  war  broke 
out  and  :Mr.  Judson  and  others  were  violently  seized 
as  English  spies  and  cast  into  the  death  prison. 

During  nine  months,  he  was  stretched  on  the  bare  flour, 
bound  by  three  pairs  of  iron  fetters,  and  fastened  to  a 
long  pole,  to  prevent  his  moving.  This  was  during  the 
hot°season  too,  when  he  was  shut  np  with  a  hundred 
prisoners  in  a  room  without  any  windows,  or  any  appli- 
ances by  which  a  breath  of  air  could  be  admitted,  except 

r—  " ^j 


238 


Judson  continued. 


through  the  cracks  in  the  boards.  They  were  all  obliged 
to  lie  in  a  row  upon  the  floor,  Avithouta  mattress,  or  even 
so  much  as  a  wooden  block,  which  they  begged  might  be 
granted  them  for  a  pillow.  His  whole  period  of  indescri- 
bable suffering  continued  for  one  year  and  seven  months. 
Yet  from  this  dark  prison  issued  a  hymn  of  praise  that 
is  now  echoing  around  this  world  in  the  psalmody  of  the 
church.  Judson  dates  it,  "Prison,  Ava,  March,  1825." 
It  is  a  versification  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  shows  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  that  filled  his  heart  during  his  long 
protracted  agony.  He  says  it  is  comprised  in  fewer  words 
than  the  original  Greek,  and  in  only  two  more  words  than 
the  common  translation : — 

"  Our  Father,  God,  who  art  in  heaven. 
All  hallowed  be  thy  name  ; 
Thy  kingdom  come ;  thy  will  be  done 
In  heaven  and  earth  the  same. 
"Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread; 
And  as  we  those  forgive 
Who  sin  against  us,  so  may  we 
Forgiving  grace  receive. 
"  Into  temptation  lead  us  not ; 
From  evil  set  us  free  ; 
And  thine   the  kingdom,  thine  the  power, 
And  glory,  ever  be." 

Who  can  read  or  sing  this  hymn  without  a  faltering 
voice,  or  a  tearful  eye,  after  knowing  the  surrounding 
circumstances  under  which  it  was  written?  Surely  it 
was  a  marvelous  faith  that  could  mingle  with  the  rattling 
of  prison  chains,  the  glad  sound  of  praise. 

We  can  easily  imagine,  how  at  one  time,  at  least,  it 
was  with  tremulous  lips,  that  the  author  himself  sang  the 
words : 

"  Give  us,  this  day,  our  daily  bread." 

His  loving  wife,  knowing  what  the  "daily  bread" 
meant  in  such  a  prison,  arranged,  by  means  of  some  buf- 


C 


li 


?F^  •\i  1934 


Judson  continued. 


fiilo  meat  and  plantains,  to  get  up  a  mince-pie,  at  least  in 
appearance.  But  when  it  arrived  in  prison,  its  associa- 
tions brought  so  vividly  to  mind  the  old  comforts  of 
home,  that  he  bowed  his  head  upon  his  knees,  and  wept 
till  the  tears  flowed  down  to  the  chains  about  his  ankles. 
Through  his  flowing  tears  he  saw  the  home  of  his  boy- 
hood again, — his  gentle  mother,  his  revered  father,  his 
much  loved  sister  and  brother  around  the  noonday  meal. 
Plis  heart  was  too  fidl  to  partake  of  the  delicious  morsel, 
and  so  he  thrust  it  into  the  hand  of  an  associate. 

In  this  time  of  trial  he  addressed  thirty  stanzas  to  his 
infant  daughter,  who,  when  twenty  days  old,  was  brought 
into  prison  to  receive  a  father's  kiss.     The  lines   began, 

"  Sleep,  darling  infant,  sleep, 

Hushed  on  thy  mother's  breast; 
Let  no  rude  sound  of  clankering  chains, 
Disturb  thy  balmy  rest." 

And  yet  after  passing  through  all  these  privations  and 
painful  experiences,  he  could  brush  away  his  tears,  and 
write: — 

"  Sovereign  love  appoints  the  measure, 
And  the  number  of  our  pains, 
And  is  pleased  when  we  take  pleasure 
In  the  trials  he  ordains." 

In  1850,  Judson's  health  had  so  broken  down,  that 
his  only  hope  for  restoration  was  a  protracted  sea  voyage. 
On  the  3rd  of  April,  he  embarked  on  a  vessel,  bound  to 
the  Isle  of  France.  Nine  days  later,  while  out  at  sea,  he 
breathed  his  last,  and  all  that  was  mortal  of  Dr.  Judson, 
was  committed  to  the  ocean's  deep,  where  his  dust  is  rocked 
by  the  mighty  billows,  till,  to  sea  and  land,  God's  angel 
shall  declare  "that  there  should  be  time  no  longer.  " 

Judson  wrote  two  other  hymns  generally  f(jund  in 
Baptist  hymn  books,  commencing, 

"  Come,    Holy  Spirit,  Dove  divine," 

"  Our  Saviour  bowed  beneath  the  wave." 

r  m 


240  John  Keble. 


"Sun  of  mj'  Soul,  Thou  Saviour  dear, 
It  is  uot  uight  if  Thou  be  near.  " 

tAILY  at  family  worship,  and  often  in  the  sanctuaiy, 
ascends  the  incense  of  praise  in  the  language  of  this 
precious  hymn. 

It  was  penned  by  Rev.  John  Keble,  M'ho  was  born 
April  25,  1792,  in  Fairford,  England.  He  received  his 
early  education  from  his  father,  who  had,  for  fifty  years, 
charge  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  this  quiet  village,  that 
lies  embedded  among  the  celebrated  Coteswold  Hills. 

At  fourteen  he  entered  the  Corpus  Christ i  College, 
where  he  obtained  the  highest  honors  ever  attained  be- 
fore by  one  so  young. 

In  1815  he  entered  the  ministry,  in  1831  he  was 
elected  professor  of  poetry  at  Oxford,  where  he  remained 
for  ten  years,  and  in  1835  became  rector  of  the  Hursley 
Church. 

He  wrote  a  poem  on  Mahomet  when  but  sixteen  years 
old.  The  two  monuments  on  which  rests  his-fame  as  a 
Christian  poet  are,  "The  Christian  Yej^r,"  and  "Lyra 
Innocentium.  "  Of  the  former,  ninety-six  editions  Nvere 
published  during  his  lifetime, — a  fact  which  is  said  to  be 
"unprecedented  in  the  annals  of  literature."  Dr.  Ar- 
nold, speaking  of  his  hymns,  says,  "The  wonderful 
knowledge  of  Scripture,  the  purity  of  heart,  and  the  rich- 
ness of  poetry  which  they  exhibit,  I  never  saw  par- 
alleled." His  church  was  open  for  daily  morning  and 
evening  prayer.  "  Night  and  day  he  was  unwearied  in 
his  ministrations  to  the  sick,  the  poor,  the  afflicted.  On 
many  a  dark  evening  he  was  seen,  lantern  in  hand,  wend- 
ing his  way  to  some  distant  cottage,  with  words  of  cheer. 
Though  a  man  of  fine  scholarly  tastes  and  culture,  he 
was  so  meek  and  unassuming,  that  the  ]>oor  looked  up 
to  him  as  their  best  friend."     He  died  March,  1866. 


JOHX  KEBLE. 


Thomas  Kelley.  243 


Kelley  and  his  Hymns. 

/JTHE  "Green  Isle"  has  never  furnished  a  greater  or 
^  more  prohfic  hymn-writer  than  Thomas  Kelley.  He 
was  born  in  1769,  and  was  the  son  of  Judge  Kelley 
of  Kelley  ville,  Ireland. 

Thoughts  of  eternity  impressed  him  early  in  life,  but 
it  was  not  till  after  he  had  completed  his  university 
studies  at  Dublin,  that  he  found  })eace  in  believing. 
After  being  awakened  through  the  perusal  of  Romaine's 
writings,  he  was  in  great  distress,  and,  in  various  forms 
of  self-punishment,  sought  to  merit  salvation.  When 
at  length  he  comprehended  the  new  and  living  way,  he 
became  very  zealous  in  proclaiming  it  to  others.  In 
1793,  he  was  ordained  in  the  Established  Church,  but 
being  restricted  in  his  evangelistic  efforts,  he  afterward 
united  with  the  Independents.  Crowds  flocked  around 
him  wherever  he  lifted  up  the  standard  of  the  cross. 
Possessed  of  ample  means,  he  built  quite  a  number  of 
churches.  While  he  preached  at  many  places,  his  main 
charge  was  in  Dublin,  where  he  broke  the  bread  of 
life  for  sixty-three  years. 

Mr.  Kelly  was  quite  a  scholar,  and  was  well  versed  in 
the  Oriental  tongues.  He  was  also  a  good  musician,  and 
prepared  a  book  of  music  to  accompany  his  hymn- 
book,  which  was  entitled,  "Hymns  on  Various  Pas- 
sages of  Scripture."  The  first  edition  was  issued  in 
1804,  and  contained  but  ninty-six  hymns,  but  so  prolific 
was  his  pen,  that  in  the  seventh  edition,  issued  in  1853, 
the  number  of  his  hymns  had  increased  to  seven  hundred 
and  sixty-seven. 

While  in  the  act  of  preaching,  he  was  stricken  down 
with  paralysis,  and  died  the  following  year,  1855,  eighty- 
six  years  of  age.  His  last  words  were,  "  Not  my  will, 
but  Thine  be  done." 


C. 


24-4'  Thomas  Ken. 


Q 


"Praise  God  from  whom  All  Blessings  flow.  " 

fHIS   doxology  appeared   as  the  last   verse    of  the 
'"Morning   and    Evening    Hymns "    added    to   the 
"  Manuel  of  Prayers,"  by  Bishop  Ken  in  1697.  The 
morning   hymn  commences, 

"Awake  my  soul,   and  with  the  sun.  " 

The  evening  hymn, 

"  Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night. " 

The  "  Morning  Hymn  "  was  very  dear  to  its  author, 
who  used  often  to  sing  it  in  the  early  morning  to  the 
accompaniment    of  his  lute. 

Bishop  Ken  was  born  at  Berkhampsted,  England,  in 
1637.  He  was  appointed  chaplain  to  the  Princes  of  Or- 
ange, 1669.  In  1684,  to  King  Charles  II.  In  1685,  to 
James  II. 

When  the  king  ordered  him  to  read  the  well-known 
Declaration  of  Indulgence,  he  conscientiously  refused  to 
comply,  for  which  he  was  imprisoned    in  the  Tower. 

Montgomery  says  of  the  doxology,  "It  is  a  master- 
piece at  once  of  amplification  and  compression:  amplifi- 
cation, on  the  burden,  'Praise  God,'  repeated  in  each 
line;  compression,  by  exhibiting  God  as  the  object  of 
praise  in  every  view  in  which  we  can  imagine  praise  due 
to  Him;  praise  for  all  His  blessings,  yea,  for  all  bless- 
ings, '  none  coming  from  any  other  source,~praise,  by 
every  creature,  specifically  invoked,  'here  below,'  and  in 
heaven  '  above ; '  praise  to  Him  in  each  of  the  characters 
wherein  He  has  revealed  Himself  in  His  word,  'Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

"  Yet  this  comprehensive  verse  is  sufficiently  simple 
that,  by  it,  'out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings,' 
God  may  '  perfect  praise ; '  and  it  appears  so  cisy 
that  one  is  tempted  to  think  hundreds  of  the  sort  might 


BISHOP   KEN. 

A  FAC  SIMILE  OF  AN  OLD    WOOd  ENGRAVING 


Ken  continued,  247 


be  made  without  trouble.  The  reader  has  only  to  try,  and 
he  will  be  quickly  undeceived :  the  longer  he  tries,  the 
more  difficult  he  will  find  the  task  to  be." 

This  doxology  daily  echoes  around  the  globe  and  prob- 
ably has  been  more  used  than  any  other  composition  in 
the  world  with  the  exception  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and 
it  will,  no  doubt,  continue  to  be  till  time  shall  be 
no  more.  "  It  has  been  said  that  Bishop  Ken  was  accus- 
tomed to  remark  that  it  would  enhance  his  joy  in  heav- 
en to  listen  to  his  morning  and  evening  hymns  as  sung 
by  the  faithful  on  earth."  ^"Whitfield  says,  that  the  hymns 
of  Ken  were  of  great  benefit  to  his  soul  when  ten  years  old. 

An  impressive  scene  occurred  in  1858,  at  Andover, 
where  they  were  having  a  great  gathering  at  the  collegi- 
ate dinner  table.  Unexpectedly  it  was  announced  that 
the  telegraphic  cable  across  the  ocean  was  successful, 
when,  it  is  said  that  "  a  thousand  gentlemen  spontaneously 
arose,  and,  in  the  majestic  sounds  of '  Old  Hundred '  sang" 
the  soul  inspiring  strain  :~ 

"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

Ken  died  as  he  was  on  a  journey  to  Bath,  in  March 
1711,  in  the  74th  year  of  his  age.  He  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  travelling  for  many  years  with  his  shroud 
in  his  port-manteau,  which  he  always  put  on  when  at- 
tacked by  sickness.  Of  this  he  gave  notice  the  day  before 
his  death,  in  order  to  prevent  his  body  from  being 
stripped.     He  was  never  married. 

In  accordance  v:\{\\  his  own  request,  he  was  buried  at 
sunrise.  His  morning  hymn  was  sung  as  his  body  sank 
in  the  grave.  His  death  was  calm  and  peaceful,  exem- 
plifying his  words  :- 

"  Teach  me  to  live,  that  T  may  dread^ 
The  grave  as  little  as  my  bed.  " 


r 


248  Ken  continued. 


The  Grave  of  Ken. 

^ISHOP  KEN'S  physician,  Dr.  Merewether,  made 
^?)  the  following  entry  in  his  diary  for  the  year  1711: — 
"March  16th, — I  went  to  Longleate,  to  visit  Bishop 
Ken. 

''March  18th, — I  waited  on  him  again. 

"March  19th,— All  glory  be  to  God.  Between  5 
and  6  in  y^  morning.  Thomas,  late  Bishop  of  Bath  and 
AVells,  died  at  Longleate." 

Bishop  Ken  was  buried  aside  of  the  eastern  window 
in  the  parish  church  of  Frome.  The  iron  pales  that 
fence  the  mound  indicate  in  the  picture  opjjosite  the 
resting-place  of  the  dust  of  him  who  penned  the  immortal 
doxology. 

"  On  j'onder  heap  of  earth  forlorn, 

Where  Ken  his  pLace  of  burial  chose, 
Peacefully  shine,  0  Sabbath  morn! 
And,  eve,  with  gentlest  hush,  repose. 
"To  him  is  rear'd  no  marble  tomb. 
Within  the  dim  cathedral-fane, 
But  some  faint  flowers  of  summer,  bloom, 
And  silent  falls  the  winter's  rain. 
"No  village  monumental  stone 

Records  a  verse,  a  date,  a  name; 
What  boots  it?  When  thy  task  is  done. 

Christian,  how  vain  the  sound   of  Fame  I 
"Oh,  far  more  grateful  to  thy  God 
The  voices  of  poor  children  rise, 
Who  hasten  o'er  the  dewy  sod, 
'To  pay  their  morning  sacrifice.' 
"And  can  we  listen  to  their  hymns, 

Heard,  haply,  when  the  evening  knell 
Sounds,  where  the  village  tower  is  dim, 
As  if  to  bid  the  world  farewell, 
"Without  a  thought,  that  from  the  dust 
The  morn  shall  wake  the  sleeping  clay, 
And  bid  the  faithful  and  the  just 
Up  spring  to  heaven's  eternal  day!" 


iiiiiiliiiiiii,iiiii!iiiiiil6iiiliil 


Ken  continued.  251 


Ken  was  fond  of  children,  and  they  of  liira.  A  pleas- 
ing fact  is  recorded,  and  adverted  to  in  the  preceding 
verses,  that  after  his  lips  could  no  longer  sing  his  morning 
hymn,  the  children  took  up  the  strain,  and,  at  early  morn, 
encircling  his  tomb,  would  re-echo  it  over  his  silent  grave. 

Rev.  W.  L.  Bowles   says,  in  his    biography  of  Ken : 

"  It  is  interesting  to  think,  that  when,  to  this  day, 
(1831)  the  same  words  of  Ken  are  sung  to  the  same 
tune,  every  Sunday,  by  the  parish  church  of  Frome, 
they  are  sung  over  the  grave  of  him,  who  composed  the 
words,  and  who  had  sung  them  himself,  to  the  same  air, 
over  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  before,  though  he  now 
lies  in  the  church-yard  without  an  inscription." 

The  following  verses  were  originally  wedded  to  the 
old  tune  of  Talis,  and  were  sung  as  a  Morning  Hymn, 
in  the  Winchester  school  that  Ken  attended. 

To  his  poetic  and  musical  ear,  the  sound  of  the  un- 
couth poetry,  and  the  want  of  harmony  between  the  words 
and  tune,  suggested,  it  is  supposed,  the  preparation  of 
his  Morning  Hymn  and  the  Doxology.  These  were 
to  take  the  place  of  these  crude  stanzas,  and  were  specially 
adapted,  and  for  over  a  century  afterwards,  sung  to  the 
same  tune  of  Talis. 

Our  readers  will  agree  with  us  that  some  substitute 
was  needed  after  reading  the  following: — 

"Praise  the  Lord,  ye  Gentiles  all, 

Which  hath  brought  you  into  this  light ; 
Oh  praise  him  all  people  mortal. 
As  is  most  worthy  and  right. 
"  For  he  is  full  determined 

On  us  to  pour  out  his  mercy ; 
And  the  Lord's  truth,  be  ye  assured 
Abideth  perpetually. 
"  Glory  be  to  God,  the  Father, 

And  to  Jesus  Christ  his  true  Son, 
With  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  like  manner, 
Now,  and  at  every  season." 

r  5)1 


252 


Ken  continued. 


c; 


Ken's  Morning  Hymn. 

fAWKINS  informs   us,  that  Ken   "seemed  to  go  to 
rest  with  no  other  purpose   than  the   refreshing  and 
enabling  him  with  more  vigour  and  cheerfulness  to 
sing  his  Morning    Hymn,  as  he   used  to  do,   to  his  lute, 
before  he  put  on  his  clothes." 

This  fact  adds  additional  interest  to  these  words: — 

"Awake,  my  soul!  and,  Tvith  t'.e  sun, 
Thy  daily  stage  of  duty  run  ; 
Shake  off  dull  sloth,  and  joyful  rise, 
To  pay  thy  morning  sacrifice."' 

One  morning.  Ken  had  special    reason  to  praise  God, 
in  this  language  of  his  morning  hymn : — 

"  All  praise  to  thee,  who  safe  hast  kept, 
And  hast  refreshed  me  while  I  slept." 

This  will  appear  from  what  he  says  in  tlie  following 
quaint  letter,  which  we  give  in  its  original  form : — 
"all  glory  be  to  god.'' 

"My  Good  L"^  AND  B': 

"The  same  post  w""  brought  me  your  Lordshipp's, 
brought  the  news  of  y"  Occasionall  Bills  being  throwne 
out  by  y*  Lords.  I  think  I  omitted  to  tell  you  y*  full  of 
my  deliverance  in  y*  late  storme,  for  the  house  being 
surveyed  y^  day  following,  y*  workmen  found  y'  y^  beame 
w""  supported  y^  roof  over  my  head  Avas  broken  out  to 
y'  degree,  y'  it  had  but  half  an  inch  hold,  so  y'  it  was  a 
wonder  it  would  hold  together;  for  w""  signall  and  par- 
ticular preservation  God's  holy  name  be  ever  praised ! 
I  am  sure  I  ought  alwayes  thankfully  to  remember  it. 

"Your  Lordshipp's  most  aifec^  friend  and  B", 
"Bath,  Nov.  18."  "Ken." 

"  For  M"  Hannah  Lloyd,  at  M''  Hawling's, 
a  giocer,  over  against  Sommersett-house, 
London." 


w 


Ken  continued.  253 


Ken's  Imprisonment  and  Retirement. 

[N  1684,  Ken  was  appointed  bishop  of  Bath  and  "Wells. 
After  four  years  of  fruitful  service,  he  was  willing  to 
go  to  prison,  rather  than  read  the  famous  "Declara- 
tion of  indulgence,"   that  was  introduced  by  James  II. 
to  favor  his  Roman   Catholic  friends.     In  the  course  of 
two  months,  he  was  acquitted  by  a  jury. 

A  cotemporary  says:  "When  he  and  the  other  six 
bishops  were  released  from  their  imprisonment,  the 
universal  joy  M^as  so  great  as  to  be  heard  many  miles 
distant;  and  the  shout  given  at  their  deliverance  in 
AV'estminster-hall,  had  almost  the  effect  upon  the  windows 
at  Lambeth,  as  the  discharge  of  a  cannon  gives. 
Bishop  Ken  came  with  the  Arch  Bishop  of  Canterbury 
in  his  coach  to  Lambeth,  which  took  them  up  several 
hours,  and  the  concourse  of  people  was  innumerable 
the  whole  Avay,  hanging  upon  the  coach,  and  in- 
sisting upon  being  blessed  by  these  two  prelates,  who, 
with  much  difficulty  and  patience,  at  last  got  to  Lambeth- 
house." 

Again  in  1691,  having  conscientiously  refused  to  give 
in  his  allegiance  to  the  new  government,  he  was,  as  non- 
juror, deprived  of  his  Episcopal  emoluments. 

With  his  "lame  horse,"  which  is  described  as  a  "sorry 
one,"  his  famous  lute,  his  little  Greek  Testament,  and 
his  shroud,  he  bade  adieu  to  the  weeping  friends  of  his 
diocese  and  retired  to  the  hospitable  home,  extended  to 
him  at  Longleat,  the  seat  of  Viscount  Weymouth,  and 
there  spent  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  earthly  career. 

"Dead  to  all  else,  alive  to  God  alone, 
Ken,  the  confessor  meek,  abandons  power, 
Palace,  and  mitre,  and  cathedral  throne, 
(A  shroud  alone  reserved, )  and  in  the  bower 
Of  meditation  hallows  every  hour." 

When,  thirteen  years  later,   Queen  Ann  granted  him 


W 


254 


Ken  continued. 


a  yearly  pension  of  200  I.,  and  sent  it  to  him  throngh 
his  successor  in  office,  he  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  it, 
in  this  letter: — 

"  ALL  GLORY  BE  TO  GOD." 

"My  Good  Lord : 

"Your  Lordshipp  gave  me  a  wonderful  surprise 
when- you  informed  me  y'  y"  Queen  had  been  pleased  to 
settle  a  very  liberall  pension  on  me.  I  beseech  God  to 
accumulate  the  blessings  of  both  lives  on  her  Majesty,  for 
royall  bounty  to  me,  so  perfectly  free  and  unexpected ; 
and  I  beseech  God  abundantly  to  reward  my  Lord 
Treasurer,  who  inclined  lier  to  be  thus  gracious  to  me, 
and  to  give  him  a  plentiful  measure  of  wisdome  from 
above. 

"My  Lord,  lett  it  not  shock  your  native  modesty,  if 
I  make  this  just  acknowledgement,  y'  though  y^  sense  I 
have  of  her  Majesty's  favour  in  y^  pension  is  deservedly 
great,  yet  her  choosing  you  for  my  successor  gave  me 
much  more  satisfaction;  as  my  concerne  for  y*  eternal  1 
welfare  of  y^  flock,  exceeded  all  regard  for  my  owne 
temporall  advantage. 

"Your  Lordshipp's  most  affectionate 
"  Friend  and  B\ 
"June  7th,  1704.  "Tho.  Ken,  L.  B.  &  W." 

The  shaded  g-roves  surrounding  his  retreat  Avere  made 
vocal,  with  the  echo  of  his  morning  and  evennig  hymns, 
and  with  much  emphasis  he  could  say: — 

"I,  the  small  dolorous  remnant  of  my  days, 

Devote  to  hymn   my  great  Redeemer's  praise; 
Aye,  nearer  as  I  draw  towards  the  heavenly  rest, 
The  more  I  love  the  employment  of  the  blest." 
His  evening  hymn  commenced  originally,  "All  praise 
to  thee,  my  God,  this  night,"  instead  of  "Glory  to  thee," 
&c.,  as  now  in  use.     Nearly  all  his  letters  were  headed 
"All  glory  be  to  God."    It  is  said,  these  were  his  last  words. 


r 


Ken\  doxology. 


255 


"  Glory  to  Thee,  my  God,  this  night." 

fHIS  hymn  of  Bishop  Ken,  says  Stevenson  in  liis 
"  Associations,"  was  the  dying  song  of  Roger  Miller, 
once  a  drunken  copperplate  printer  of  London,  after- 
ward a  city  missionary  in  Broadwall,  Lambeth,  where  he 
labored  long  and  usefully  amongst  the  profligate  and 
destitute.  On  the  death  of  his  mother,  in  1847,  Mr. 
Miller  left  London  for  Manchester,  to  attend  her  funeral. 
It  was  near  midnight,  when,  as  the  train  approached 
Wolverton,  an  accident  occurred:  the  train  ran  off  the 
lines,  and  several  were  killed.  Mr.  Miller  had  a  few 
moments  before  united  with  the  other  passengers  in 
singing  the  "Evening  hymn,"  that  they  might  close 
the  day  with  a  devotional  song.  The  j)raises  of  the  pas- 
sengers arose  amidst  the  noise  of  the  rushing  train,  and 
most  seemed  heartly  to  join.  Hosv  appropriate  the 
words  as  contained  in   the  third  verse : — 

"Teach  me   to  live,  that  I  may  dread 
The  grave  as  little  as  my  bed  ; 
Teach  me  to  die,  that  so  I  may 
Rise  glorious  at  the  awful  day." 

The  music  of  their  voices  became,  with  one,  at  least,  in 
that  company,  blended  with  the  hallelujahs  of  the  re- 
deemed, for  iloger  Miller  was  hurried  in  an  instant  to 
glory. 

If  all  the  impressive  incidents  thus  associated  with 
the  hymns  of  Bishop  Ken  can  be  reported  to  iiim  in 
Heaven,  he  certainly  realizes  in  full,  the  joy  anticipated, 
and  expressed  in  the  following  stanza : — 

"And  should  the  well-meant  song  I  leave  behind, 
With  Jesus'  lovers  some  acceptance  find, 
•'Twill  heighten  even  the  joys  of  heaven  to  know 

That,  in  my  verse,  saints  sing  God's  praise    below.  " 


w 


r 


w 


256  Ken,  continued. 


r 


The  Doxology  in  Libby  Prison. 

W.  F.  CRAFTS  gives  the  following  narrative 
as  from  the  lips  of  Chaplain  McCabe,  in  relation  to 
the  starving  "boys  in  blue/'  while  incarcerated  in 
Libby  Prison : — 

"Day  after  day  they  saw  comrades  passing  aNvay,  and 
their  number  increased  by  fresh,  living  recruits  for  the 
grave.  One  night  about  ten  o'clock,  through  the  stillness 
and  the  darkness,  they  heard  the  tramp  of  coming  feet, 
that  soon  stopped  before  the  prison  door  until  arrange- 
ments could  be  made  inside. 

"In  the  company  was  a  young  Baptist  minister,  whose 
heart  almost  fainted  as  he  looked  on  those  cold  walls  and 
thought  of  the  suffering  inside.  Tired  and  weary  he  sat 
down,  put  his  face  in  his  hands  and  wept.  Just  then  a 
lone  voice  suug  out  from  an  upper  window : — 

"  '  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow  ; ' 
and  a  dozen  manly  voices  joined  in  the  second  line : — 

'"Praise  Him  all  creatures  here  below;' 

and  then  by  the  time  the  third  was  reached,  more  than 
a  score  of  hearts  were  full,  and  these  joined  to  send  the 
words  on  hig-h : — 

"  '  Praise  Him  above  ye  heavenly  host ; ' 

and  by  this  time  the  prison  was  all  alive,  and  seemed  to 
quiver  with  the  sacred  song,  as  from  every  room  and 
cell  those  brave  men  sano:: — 

"  '  Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. ' 

As  the  song  died  out  on  the  still  night  that  enveloped 
in  darkness  the  doomed  city  of  Richmond,  the  young 
man  arose  and  happily  said : — 

"  '  Prisons  would  palaces  prove, 

If  Jesus  would  dwell  with  me  there.'  " 


Ken's  doxology  continued,  257 


The  Doxology  Sung  Thirty  Five  Times  in  one  Day. 

tTEVENSON  records  the  fact  that  cluruig  a  season 
of  revival  iii  Loudon,  the  church  was  accustomed  to 
sing  the  doxology  at  each  time  the  report  was  given 
of  a  new  case  of  conversion.  During  one  day  they  had 
occasion  to  repeat  it  thus  thirty  five  different  times,  as 
one  and  another  had  been  added  as  trophies  of  the  cross. 
He  says  that  a  twelve  miles'  walk  after  that  day's  ser- 
vice, during  the  snow  of  a  cold  February,  did  not  dissi- 
pate the  blessed  memory  of  that  memorable  day. 


The  Doxology  Sung  'Mid  Tears  of  Joy. 

^EV.  DR.  TAYLOR  states  the  following  flict:— 
^  ''In  the  great  cotton  famine  in  England,  which 
desolated  Lancashire  for  long  and  weary  months,  the 
conduct  of  the  operatives  was  the  admiration  of  the 
world.  There  were  no  riots  and  no  excess  of  crimes.  The 
people,  men  and  women,  went  into  the  Sunday  school 
houses  and  prayed.  They  had  been  taught  to  do  so,  and 
they  were  upheld  in  the  time  of  trial  by  the  truths  they 
liad  learned.  When  the  first  wagon  load  of  cotton  ar- 
rived, the  people  unhooked  the  horses  and  drew  it  them- 
selves, and  surrounding  it  began  to  sing.  What  do  you 
think  they  sang?  They  sang  the  grand  old  doxology 
while  the  tears  came  flowing  down  their  cheeks: — 
"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. " 


fETITIA  OAKES,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty 
five,  passed  away,  and  with  her  dying  breath,  whis- 
pered the  doxology: — 

"Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessinp;s  flow," 

and  while  the  words  were  still  on  her  lips  she  ceased  to 
breathe. 

r  m 


258 


Hymn  by  E.  31.  Long, 


C 


PRAISE    TO    THE    TRINITY. 

Words  and  Music  by  Kev.  E.  M.  Long. 


So/i  and  subdued. 


1  Heavenly   Fath  -  er,         wo   thy     cliil-dren     nu^et,         Meet  to  gatU  -  er 

2  Pie  -  cious  Sa  -  viour,      in    our    midst  ap    -    pear,       Smile  with  fa  -  vor, 

3  Ho    -    ly     Spir  -  it,      move,  and   melt  each     heart.      While  we  wor-sldp, 


Refrain, 


i\.ty  ruia,  ^^      ■, 


round  thy    mer-cy 

draw  thou      ver  -  y 

life    and    love  im 


l£ 


^^^. 


-z~r- 


w 

seat, 
near, 
part. 

J 1. 


it.-*r 


Praise  and  hon  -  or         thee  we  biins 


EJgE^ij: 


J^^n^ 


r  c  r  t 


:ff-_ff-- 


-m ^ — 1^ 


Chorus. 


ev  -  er,      Glo-ry      be     to   thee    for  -  ev     -    er,      Glo-ry  be  to  thee,  thou 

Ig-— -g-     ->»-      r— -r     -T-rg^g-J^^-T^-,-^,     m'^  r 

-m m — w — m m m ^ — I*— F        y — F — ^ — F — F — ta— h 


-x-J— ^_ 


PPrit.         Final  Ending. 


-^EE33E#^EWEE^=fe-^ 

Lord  of  hosts;  Fa-ther,  Son,  and  Ho  -  ly        Ghost. 


%-j-=!S;=±%-=^. 


^^-^^ 


-*— i ia — iS-H*- 


=U=I«: 


r^^^^^^l^i^ 


FF^ 


Venerable  Bede.  259 


"  Praise  to  the  Trinity." 

fLEVEN  hundred  years  ago  there  ascended  to  the 
skies,  the  venerable  Bede,  whose  last  song  on  earth 
was  " Praise  to  the  Trinity."  He  Mas  born  about 
the  year  672.  Having  become  an  orphan  in  early  life 
he  was  trained  in  a  monastery.  He  was  justly  distin- 
guished for  his  piety  and  learning.  Among  the  volumes 
that  he  wrote,  was  a  "  A  Book  of  Hymns  in  Several  Sorts 
of  Metre  or  Rhyme,"  and  a  "  Book  of  the  Art  of  Poetry." 

One  of  his  pupils  thus  describes  his  last  days:  "He 
lived  joyfully,  giving  thanks  to  God  day  and  night;  every 
day  he  gave  lessons  to  us,  his  pupils,  and  the  rest  of  the 
time  he  occupied  in  chanting  psalms.  He  was  awake 
almost  the  whole  night,  and  spent  it  in  joy  and  thanks- 
giving: and  when  he  awoke  from  his  short  sleep,  imme- 
diately he  raised  his  hands  on  high,  and  began   again  to 

give  thanks And  when  became  to  the  Mords, 

'leave  us  not  orphaned  behind  Thee,'  he  burst  into  tears. 

"Then  in  an  hour  he  began  to  sing  again.  We  wept 
with  him;  sometimes  w'e  read,  sometimes  we  wept,  but 
we  could  not  read  without  tears. " 

His  last  effort  was  to  translate  the  Gospel  of  John 
into  Anglo-Saxon.  He  kept  dictating  to  an  amanuensis, 
bidding  him  write  faster  and  faster,  until  death  drew  near. 

At  last  his  attendant  said :  "  Dearest  master,  there  is 
only  one  thought  left  to  wiite.  "  He  answered,  "Write 
quickly."  Soon  the  answer  was,  that  it  was  written, 
when  he  replied:  "Raise  my  head  in  thy  hand,  for  it  will 
do  me  good  to  sit  opposite  my  sanctuary,  where  I  was 
wont  to  kneel  down  to  pray,  that  sitting  I  may  call  upon 
my  Father."  While  thus  seated,  with  his  eyes  turned 
toward  the  courts  of  the  Lord,  he  sang:  "Glory  to  Thee, 
O  God,  Fatlier,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;"  and  when  he 
had  named  the  Holy  Ghost  he  breathed  his  last  breath. 


260  Kelt's  doxolo<jy. 


The  Doxology  Heard  a  Mile. 

tN  1859,  we  had  an  extensive  revival  at  Pottsville 
Pa.,  under  the  "Union  Tabernacle." 

We  had  four  services  daily  for  seven  weeks.  Hun- 
dreds had  professed  penitence,  and  as  many  had  been  re- 
ceived into  the  diiferent  churches,  the  pastors  thought  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  close  this  series  of  meetings  with 
a  grand  union  service.  Twelve  churches  responded  to  the 
invitation  representing  ten  different  denominations. 

Pottsville  is  surrounded  by  many  smaller  towns,  two 
three,  and  four  miles  distant.  From  these  came  bands  of 
Christians, singing  the  songs  of  Zion.  So  that  as  the  set- 
ting sun  was  gilding  the  mountains,  the  hills  overlook- 
ing the  city  were  made  to  re-echo  with  the  sentiments 
of  hymns  such  as, 

Come  we  that  love  the  Lord, 
And  let  our  joys  be  known.  " 

and 

*' Children  of  the  Heavenly  King, 
As  we  journey  sweetly  sing.  " 

We  had,  by  means  of  extra  canvass,  extended  our 
Tabernacle,  that  ordinarily  held  several  thousands,  so 
that  it  covered  an  immense  mass  of  human  beings.  One 
pastor  estimated  the  number  present  at  seven  thousand. 

Some  fourteen  hundred  professed  Christians  took  part 
in  the  exercises  that  were  conducted  in  the  English,  Ger- 
man and  Welsh  languages.  As  we  closed  by  singing  the 
Doxology,  the  immense  volume  of  sound  arose  so  grand- 
ly in  the  calm  evening  air,  that  when  the  request  was 
made  that  it  be  repeated,  it  was  sung  with  hearts  over- 
flowing with  gladness,  eyes  swimming  in  tears  of  joy,  so 
that  at  a  distance  of  a  mile,  a  household  distinctly 
heard  the  words  :- 

"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 


Francis  S  Key\  hymn. 


261 


C 


A  Hymn  by  the  Author  of  "Star-Spangled  Banner. " 

N  some  of  the  d liferent  church 
collections  of  hymns  may  be 
found  one  beginning, — 

"  If  life's  pleasures  charm  thee, 
Give  them  not  thy  heart, 
Lest  the  gift  ensnare  thee 
From  thy  God  to  part. 
His  favors  seek, 
His  praises  speak, 
Fix  here  thy  hopes'  foundation  ; 
Serve  Him,  and  He 
Will  ever  be 
The  Pcock  of  thy  salvation." 

It  came  from  the  pen  of  the  autlior  of  the  well-known 
" Stai-Sjiangled  Banner;"  and,  if  the  last-named  com- 
position shows  the  graceful  patriot,  the  hymn  certainly 
displays  the  Christian.  This  was  still  further  manifested 
in  a  scene  about  the  year  1835.  as  thus  described  by  the 
clergyman  officially  engaged.  He  says,  "I  stood  within 
the  railing,  at  the  side  of  the  communion-table,  and  hud 
administered  the  sacred  elements  to  all,  it  seemed,  who 
desired  to  partake  of  them.  Just  then,  however,  as 
though  previously  restrained  by  profound  humility,  a 
stranger  approached  the  altar,  knelt  all  alone,  and  so  re- 
ceived the  holy  memorials  of  our  Saviour's  suffering  and 
death. 

"  I  trust  that  the  service  was  one  of  true  faith,  and  the 
result  was  one  of  great  peace  and  comfort.  That  last 
communicant  was  the  same  pei'son, — the  distinguished 
poet,  the  accomplished  lawyer  and  orator,  the  modest 
Christian,  Francis  S.  Key." 

Belcher^s  Historical  Sketches. 


.i) 


202  Martin  Luther. 


Luther  and  his  Hymns. 


<?a 


IGURES  can  tell  the  immensity  of  space  tlirough 
•^  which  a  rolling  world  makes  its  orbit,  but  who  can 
decipher  the  circuit  of  that  influence  which  encircles 
the  centuries  of  time  and  the  ages  of  eternity.  The  liymn- 
writing  of  Luther  and  his  co-laborers,  set  in  motion  such 
a  train  of  results,  that  no  mortal  pen  can  describe.  It 
was  the  lever  that  moved  the  world  of  German  mind. 
"The  whole  people,"  said  a  Catholic  of  that  period, 
"is  singing  itself  into  this  ]L.utheran  doctrine."  The 
Romanist  had  good  reason  for  this  assertion.  Coleridge 
says:  "Luther  did  as  much  for  the  Reformation  by  his 
hymns  as  by  the  translation  of  the  Bible."  During  the 
time  when  Luther  was  most  busy  composing  his  liyinns, 
four  printers  in  Erfurt  alone  were  kept  at  work  in  j)rint- 
ing  and  publishing  them.  They  seemed  to  fly  all  over 
the  land,  as  if  on  the  wings  of  the  wind. 

Writing  to  his  friend  Spalatin,  he  says:  "It  is  my 
intention,  after  the  example  of  the  prophets  and  the 
ancient  fathers,  to  make  German  psalms  for  the  people; 
that  is,  spiritual  songs,  whereby  the  Word  of  God  may 
be  kept  alive  among  them  by  singing.  We  seek,  there- 
fore, everywhere  for  poets.  Now,  as  you  are  such  a  mas- 
ter of  the  German  tongue,  and  are  so  mighty  and  eloquent 
therein,  I  entreat  you  to  join  hands  with  us  in  the  work." 

The  second  hymn  that  I^uther  wrote  proved  to  be  very 
popular  in  his  day.  A  cotemporary  says:  "Who  doubts 
not  that  many  hundred  Christians  have  been  brought  to 
the  true  faith  by  this  one  hymn  alone,  who  before,  per- 
chance, could  not  so  much  as  bear  to  hear  Luther's  name. 
But  his  sweet  and  noble  words  have  so  taken  their  hearts 
that  they  were  constrained  to  come  to  the  truth." 

A  singular  use  was  made  of  this  hymn  in  1557.  A 
number  of  princes,  connected  with  the  reformed  religion. 


'^'^^71^ 


Luther  continued.  265 


having  met  at  Frankford,  arranged  to  have  an  evangeli- 
cal service  in  the  Church  of  St.  Bartholomew.  But  a 
cunning  Roman  Catholic  priest  occupied  the  pulpit,  and 
proceeded  to  preach  in  accordance  with  his  own  views. 
After  enduring  his  remarks  for  a  while,  in  *'  indignant 
silence,"  the  whole  congregation  rose  and  drowned  his 
voice  by  singing  this  hymn,  and  in  this  they  persisted 
till  they  sang  the  affrighted  priest  out  of  church.  We 
give  herewith  the  first  of  the  ten  verses  of  this  hymn, 
as  translated  by  Catherine  Wiukworth : — 

"Dear  Christian  people,  now  rejoice  1 

Our  hearts  within  us  leap, 
While  we,  as  with  one  soul  and  voice, 

With  love  and  gladness  deep, 
Tell  how  our  God  beheld  our  need, 
And  sing  that  sweet  and  wondrous  deed, 

That  hath  so  dearly  cost  Him. 

Luther  calls  hymns  "a  miniature  Bible."  Rewrote 
thirty-seven,  "  which  are  to  be  weighed,  not  counted." 
He  also  composed  music  adapted  to  many  of  his  hymns. 
After  dinner,  it  is  said,  that  whether  at  home  or  abroad, 
he  was  accustomed  "to  take  a  lute  and  sing  and  ])lay  for 
half  an  hour  or  more  with  his  friends."  It  is  tlierefore 
no  wonder  that  he  declaied,  "  He  who  despises  music, 
as  all  fanatics  do,  will  never  be  my  friend."  In  seeking 
to  have  all  children  taught  to  sing,  he  says :"  I  would 
fain  see  all  arts,  specially  music,  in  the  service  of  Him, 
who  has  given  and  created  them."  To  so  great  an  extent 
were  the  Reformers  singers,  that  "psalm  singer"  and 
"heretic"  became  synonymous.  Thus  the  great  Re- 
former was  also  the  great  singer  of  the  church,  giving  the 
hymn  book,  as  well  as  the  Bible  to  the  peo])le. 

Luther  was  born  at  Eisleben,  Nov.  10,  1483.  He 
was  the  son  of  humble  but  pious  parents.  Even  in  early 
life  his  voice  was  tuned  to  hymn  the  Redeemer's  praise, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  incident: — 


266  Martin  Luther. 


Luther's  Snow  Song. 


fN  a  cold,  dark  night,  when  the  wind  was  blowing 
hard,  Conrad,  a  worthy  citizen  of  a  little  town  in 
Germany,  sat  playing  his  flute,  while  Ursula,    his 
wife  was  preparing  supper.     They  heard  a  sweet  voice 
singing  outside : 

"  Foxes  to  their  holes  have  gone, 
Every  bird  into  its  nest ; 
But  I  wander  here  alone, 
And  for  me  there  is  no  rest.  " 

Tears  filled  the  good  man's  eyes,  as  he  said,  "  AVhat  a 
pity  it  should  be  spoiled  by  being  tried  in  such  weather.  " 

"  I  think  it  is  the  voice  of  a  child.  Let  us  open  the 
door  and  see,  "  said  his  wife,  who  had  lost  a  little  boy  not 
long  before,  and  whose  heart  was  opened  to  take  pity  on 
the  little  wanderer. 

Conrad  opened  the  door,  and  saw  a  ragged  child,  who 
said  : 

"  Charity,  good  sir,  for  Christ's  sake." 

"  Come  in,  my  little  one, "  said  he.  "  You  shall  rest 
with  me  for  the  night.  " 

The  boy  said,  "  Thank  God  !  "  and  entered.  The  heat 
of  the  room  made  him  faint,  but  Ursula's  kind  care  soon 
restored  him.  They  gave  him  some  supper,  and  then  he 
told  them  that  he  was  ths  son  of  a  poor  miner,  and  want- 
ed to  be  a  priest.  He  wandered  about  and  sang,  and 
lived  on  the  money  people  gave  him.  His  kind  friends 
would  not  let  him  talk  much,  but  sent  him  to  bed. 

When  he  was  asleep  they  looked  in  upon  him,  and 
were  so  pleased  with  his  pleasant  countenance  that  they 
c'etermined  to  keep  him,  if  he  was  willing.  In  the 
morning  they  found  that  he  was  only  too  glad  to  remain. 

They  sent  him  to  school,  and  afterward  he  entered  the 


C 


HTHER'S  STRKET  80.\(i 


Luther  continued.  269 


monastery.  There  he  found  the  Bible,  which  he  read 
and  from  which  he  learned  the  way  of  life.  The  little 
voice  of  the  little  singer  became  the  strong  echo  of  the 
good  news,  "  Justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. "  Conrad  and  Ursula 
when1;hey  took  that  little  singer  into  their  house,  little 
thought  that  then  they  were  nourishing  the  great  champ- 
ion 'of  Keformation.  The  poor  child  was  Martin 
Luther  !     "Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers.  " 

The  following  is  the  whole  of  the  song  which  Luther 
sang  on  that  memorable  night : 

I  ord  of  heaven  !  lone  and  sad, 

I  ^YOuld  lift  my  soul  to  thee  ; 

Pilgrim  in  a  foreign  land, 

Gracious  Father,  look  on  me. 

I  shall  neither  faint  nor  die 

While  I  walk  beneath  thin^  eye. 

I  will  stay  my  faith  on  thee, 

And  vyill  never  fear  to  tread 

Where  the  Savior-Mas  er  leads  ; 

He  will  give  me  daily  bread. 

Christ  was  hungry,  Christ  was  poor, 

Be  will  feed  me  from  his  store. 

Foxes  to  their  holes  have  gone, 

Every  bird  into  its  nest; 

But  I  wander  here  alone,' 

A^d  for  me  there  is  no  rest ; 

Yet  I  neither  faint  nor  fear, 

For  the  Savior.Christ  is  near. 

If  I  live  he'll  be  near  me, 

If  I  die  to  him  I  go  ; 

He'll  not  leave  me,  I  will  trust  him, 

And  my  heart  no  fear  shall  know. 

Sin  and  sorrow  I    defy, 

For  on  Jesus  I  rely. 


r 


270  Luther  continued. 


Coburg  Castie  and  Luther's  Hymn. 

fOBURG  is  a  small  city  in  Germany,  and  is  one  of 
the  chief  ducal  residences.  This  old  castle  of  the 
dukes  stands  on  a  height  that  rises  more  than  five 
hundred  feet  above  the  town.  It  is  still  a  place  of 
strength,  and  contains  a  large  collection  of  armor.  But 
the  chief  attractions  to  visitors  are  the  rooms  and  the  bed 
which  Luther  occupied,  and  the  pulpit  from  which  he 
2)reached,  nearly  three  and  a  half  centuries  ago. 

The  time  of  Luther's  sojourn  here  was  in  the  year 
1530,  during  the  meeting  of  the  diet  at  Augsburg,  when 
the  great  confession  of  the  Protestant  church  was  deliv- 
ered. While  Melanchthon  and  otlrer  theolocrians,  too;etli- 
er  with  the. Elector,  went  to  the  diet,  they  left  Luther 
on  the  way  in  the  refuge  afforded  by  the  strong  castle 
at  Coburg,   where  he  could   easily  be  reached  by  letter. 

As  Luther  had,  nine  years  before  called  Wurtemburg 
Castle  his  Patmos,  so  he  named  this  liis  Sinai;  but  in 
Avriting  to  Melancthon,  he  said  he  would  make  it  a  Zion. 
Here  he  remained  nearly  six  months,  laboring  and 
praying  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  one  of  his  principal 
occupations  being  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the 
German  lan2:uao;e. 

It  is  said  that  during  the  diet,  when  great  dangers 
threatened  the  church,  he  would  daily  go  to  the  window 
of  the  castle,  look  up  toward  heaven  and  sing  Avith  great 
energy  his  celebrated  hymn  of  faith: — 

"  A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God." 
Some  writers  have  even  maintained  that  this  hymn  was 
Avritten  at  Coburg;  but  it  is  traceable  to  a  date  a  year 
earlier.  This  hymn  may  well  be  associated  with  castles. 
It  seems  itself  a  grand  tower  of  strength.  It  is  founded 
on  the  forty-sixth  Psalm,  which  opens  with  those  words 
of  power:  ''God  is  our  lefuge  and  strength." 


C. 


o 


Luther's  hymn. 


273 


A  Nobleman  Brought  in  his  Right  Mind  by  Singing, 

f  HUNGARIAN  nobleman  lost  a  daughter  whom  he 
most  tenderly  loved.  The  circumstances  of  her  death 
greatly  aggravated  his  grief,  and  he  became  quite 
uncontrollable  in  his  mental  derangement.  Every  means 
was  tried  which  wealth  or  influence  could  devise  or  secure 
to  restore  him,  but  without  effect.  Lyin'g  on  liis  couch 
in  a  room  draped  with  black,  from  which  the  light  was 
excluded,  he  neither  smiled  or  wept,  and  joy  seemed  for- 
ever to  have  fled  from  his  breast. 

At  length  it  was  proposed  that  Mara,  who  was  noted 
for  her  vocal  performances,  should  sing  within  hearing 
of  the  afflicted  father,  whose  grief  had  now  nearly  worn 
him  down  to  the  grave.  Handel's  "  Messiah"  was  cho- 
sen for  the  experiment,  and  in  an  adjoining  room  that 
sweet  and  marvellous  voice  began  its  almost  more  than 
human  strains.  At  first  it  had  no  apparent  effect  on  the 
nobleman.  As  she  proceeded  he  slowly  raised  himself 
from  his  couch  to  listen,  and  the  heart  that  had  been 
dead  to  emotion  began  to  swell  with  the  rising  tide.  "NA'hen 
she  came  to  the  passage,  "Look  and  see  if  there  be  any 
sorrow  like  to  my  sorrow,"  that  was  rendered  with  a  sub- 
dued pathos,  which  brought  tears  in  the  eyes  of  those 
present,  sighs  escaped  the  suffering  father,  and  soon  the 
tears  followed,  and  then  rising  from  his  couch,  he  fell 
upon  his  knees,  and  by  the  time  the  full  choir  struck  the 
hallelujah  chorus,  his  voice  united  with  theirs,  and  his 
spirit  was  free.  This  was  a  striking  illustration  of  Lu- 
ther's stanzas: — 

"  Whore  friends  and  comrades  sing  in  tune, 

All  evil  passions  vanish  soon  ; 

Hate,  answer,  envy  cannot  stay, 

All  gloom  and  heartache  melt  away, 

The  lust  of -nealth,  the  cares  that  cling, 

Are  all  forgotten  while  we  sing." 


c 


w 


27-4  Francis  1/yte. 


Author  of  *'  Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken. " 

fHIS  hymn  of  consecration  was  written  by  Rev.  Hen- 
ry Francis  Lyte,  and  was  first  published  in  1833,  in 
a  volume  of  "Poems  Chiefiy  Religious.'' 

He  was  born  at  Kelso,  Scotland,  June  1,  1793. 

While  receiving  a  liberal  education  at  Trinity  college, 
Dublin,  he  struggled   hard   with  poverty. 

Lyte  speaks  of  himself  as  having  been  worldly-mind- 
ed, and  a  stranger  to  experimental  religion,  until  1818, 
three  years  after  he  had  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Church  of  England.  His  eyes  were  opened  while  at 
the  death-bed  of  a  neighboring  clergyman,  who  had  sent 
for  him  in  great  agony,  because  he  was  "unpardoned 
and  unprepared  to  die."  As  they  joined  in  the  search 
of  the  Scriptures  to  find  out  the  way  of  salvation,  they 
both  entered  into  the  rest  of  faith  while  perusing  the 
writings  of  St.  Paul. 

"I  was  greatly  affected,"  says  Lyte,  "by  the  whole 
matter,  and  brought  to  look  at  life,  and  its  issues  with  a 
different  eye  than  before;  and  I  began  to  study  my  Bi- 
ble, and  preach  in  another  manner  than  I  had  previously 
done." 

Of  the  departure  of  his  friend,  he  says,  "he  died  happy 
under  the  belief  that,  though  he  deeply  erred,  there  was 
One  whose  death  and  sufferings  would  atone  for  all  de- 
linquencies, and  He  accepted  for  all  that  he  had  in- 
curred." In  1823,  he  took  charge  of  a  church  at 
Brixham,  where  he  wrote  most  of  his  hymns. 

Amongst  this  "busy,  shrewd,  somewhat  rough,  but 
warm-hearted  population  of  a  fishing  coast,  and  sea- 
faring district,"  he  spent  some  twenty-four  years  of 
zealous,  faithful  labor.  Here  "he  made  hymns  for  his 
little  ones,  and  hymns  for  his  hardy  fishermen,  and  hymns 
for  sufferers  like  himself." 


Lyte  continued.  275 


He  gathered  a  Sunday  school  of  several  hundred  schol- 
ars, and  trained  a  band  of  some  seventy  teachers  to  teach 
them.  In  1834,  he  published  the  "Spirit  of  the 
Psalms,"  a  metrical  version  of  the  same;  and  in  1846, 
the  "Poems  of  Henry  Vaughan,  with  a  Memoir." 

His  health  failing,  he  was  advised  to  journey  to  the 
South.  Of  this,  said  he:  "They  tell  me  that  the  sea  is 
injurious  to  me.  I  hope  not;  for  I  know  of  no  divorce 
I  should  more  deprecate  than  from  the  ocean.  From 
childhood  it  has  been  my  friend  and  playmate,  and 
never  have  I  been  Aveary  of  gazing  on  its  glorious  face. 
Besides,  if  I  cannot  live  by  the  sea,  adieu  to  poor  Berry 
Head — adieu  to  the  wild  birds,  and  wild  flowers,  and 
all  the  objects  that  have  made  my  old  residence  so  at- 
tractive." After  a  little,  he  adds,  "I  am  meditating 
flight  again  to  the  south.  The  little  faithful  robin  is 
every  morning  at  my  window,  sweetly  warning  me  that 
autumnal  hours  are  at  hand.  The  swallows  are  pre- 
pering  for  flight,  and  invithig  me  to  accompany  them ; 
and  yet,  alas!  while  I  talk  of  flying,  I  am  just  able  to 
crawl,  and  ask  myself  whether  I  shall  be  able  to  leave 
England  at  all."' 

•   In  this  time  of  trial  and  weakness,  how  appropriate 
and  expressive  the  language  of  one  of  his  hymns : — 

^  "Whate'er  events  betide, 

Thy  will  they  all  perform; 
Safe  in  Thy  breast  my  head  I  hide, 
Nor  fear  the  coming  storm. 

"  Let  good  or  ill  befal, 

It  must  be  good  for  me ; 

Secure  of  having  Thee  in  all, 

Of  having  all  in  Thee.  " 

In  the  autumn  of  1847,  before  starting  out  on  this, 
his  last  journey,  he  penned  the  lines  of  the  following 
hymn,  that  an  eminent  writer  regards  as  "almost  perfect. " 


r 


c 


276  Origin  of  Lyte's  hymn. 


"Abide  with  me  !  Fast  falls  the  eventide.  " 

fHIS  liymn  was  the  last  poetic  utterances  of  Lyte, 
written  as  tlie  shadows  of  the  dark  valley  were  closing 
his  labors  on  earth. 

Though  he  was,  as  he  says,  scarcely  "able  to  crawl," 
he  made  one  more  attempt  to  preach  and  to  administer 
the  holy  communion.  "O  brethren,"  said  he,  "lean 
speak  feelingly,  experimentally,  on  this  point;  and  I  stand 
before  you  seasonably  to-tlay,  as  alive  from  the  dead,  if 
I  may  hope  to  impress  it  upon  you,  and  induce  you  to 
prepare  for  that  solemn  hour  which  must  come  to  all,  by 
a  timely  acquaintance  with,  appreciation  of,  and  a  depen- 
dence on  the  death  of  Christ." 

]\Iany  tearful  eyes  witnessed  the  distribution  of  the  sa- 
cred elements,  as  given  out  by  one  who  was  already  stand- 
ing with  one  foot  in  the  grave. 

Having  giv^en  with  his  dying  breath  a  last  adieu  to  his 
surrounding  flock,  he  retired  to  his  chamber  fully  aware 
of  his  near  approach  to  the  end  of  time.  As  the  evening' 
of  the  sad  day  gathered  its  darkness,  he  handed  to  a  near 
and  dear  relative  this  immortal  hymn,  with  music  ac- 
companying, which  he  had  prepared: — 

"  Abide  Tvith  me  !     Fast  falls  the  eventide  ; 

The  darkness  deejiens  ;  Lord,  with  me  abide  ! 
When  other  helpers  fail,  and  comforts  flee. 
Help  of  the  helpless,  oh,  abide  with  me. 
"  Swift  to  its  close  ebbs  out  life's  little  day  ; 

Earth's  joj-s  grow  dim  ;  its  glories  pass  away; 
Change  and  decay  all  around  I  see; 

0  Thou,  who  changest  not,  abide  with  me.  '' 

The  Master  did  abide  with  him  the  few  more  days  he 
spent  on  earth.  His  end  is  described  as  that  of  "the 
happy  Christian  poet,  singing  while  strength  lasted, "  and 
Avhile  entering  the  dark  valley,  pointing  upwards,  with 
smiling  countenance,  he  whispered,  "Peace,  joy.' 


r 


Decision  for  Christ  rcioarded,  211 


"Jesus,  I  My  Cross  Have  Taken.  " 

fLIZA  was  the  lovely  daughter  of  a  wealthy  Infidel. 
During  his  absence  as  a  member  of  the  legislature, 
she  stole  away  to  a  protracted  meeting.  As  the  lov- 
ing heart  of  Jesus  was  unfolded  in  the  sermon,  she  wept 
aloud.  Going  home  she  told  her  mother  where  she  had 
been  and  how  she  felt.  Her  mother  became  very  angry 
and  said,  "  your  father  will  banish  you,  if  you  persist.  " 
The  next  evening  found  her  at  the  same  place  of  ])ray- 
er,  contrary  to  her  mother's  Avishes.  At  the  close  of  the 
sermon  she  cried  for  mercy,  poured  forth  her  heart  in 
sobs  and  fervent  prayers.  Hymn  after  hymn  was  sung, 
and  many  prayers  offered  on  her  behalf.  The  last  hymn 
was  being  sung.    The  last  verse  was  reached. 

"  Yet  save  a  trembling  sinner,  Lord, 

Whose  hope  still  hovering  round  thy  word, 
Would  light  on  some  sweet  promise  thera, 
Some  sure  support    against  despair.  " 

As  the  last  strain  sounded  in  the  ear  of  the  penitent, 
she  gently  threw  back  her  head  and  opened  her  calm 
blue  eyes,  yet  sparkling  with  tears,  but  they  were  tears 
that  told  of  sins  forgiven. 

Word  reached  Mr.  P the  father.    Coming  home 

on  horse-back,  Eliza  ran  to  the  gate  to  meet  him  with  a 
kiss,  but  he  rudely  seized  her  by  the  arm,  and  with  his 
horse-whip  whipped  her  out  of  the  gate,  telling  her  to 
be  gone,  and  with  many  curses  forbade  her  return. 

Sadly  she  went  weeping  down  the  lane.  A  poor  wid- 
ow took  her  into  her  house.  There  she  spent  the  night 
in  prayer.  Her  father,  in  great  anguish,  did  the  same, 
for  he  could  not  sleep.  He  sought  and  found  mercy. 
Sent  for  his  daughter,  whom  he  met  and  embraced  at 
the  same  gate,  saying,  "I  give  you  my  heart  and  hand 
to  go  with  you  to  heaven. "  The  mother  followed  and  all 
were  united  in  Christ,  and  are  now  with  Christ  above. 


278  A  scorner  conquered  by  a  hymn. 


'I  send  the  joys  of  earth  away. 


mHE  sentiments  of  this  hymn  are  strikingly  illustrated 
^  in  the  following  narrative: — 

A  young  gentleman,  tenderly  attached  to  a  young 
lady,  was  obliged  to  take  a  journey.  During  his  absence 
she  became  a  follower  of  Jesus.  He  heard  of  the  change, 
and  wrote  her  a  letter  full  of  invectives  against  religion 
and  its  gloomy  professors.  Having  a  good  voice,  and 
playing  well  on  the  piano-forte,  she  had  been  accustomed 
to  entertain  him  with  her  music,  especially  in  performing 
one  song,  of  which  he  was  very  fond,  the  burden  of 
which  was,  "Ah,  never!  ah,  no!"  At  their  first  in- 
terview after  his  return,  he  tauntingly  said,  "I  suppose 
you  cannot  sing  me  a  song  now?"  "Oh,  yes,"  W'as  her 
reply,  "but  I  will;"  and,  proceeding  to  her  piano,  she 
sung  a  hymn  she  had  composed  to  his  favorite  tune: — 

"  As  I  glad  bid  adieu  to  the  world's  fancied  ])leasure, 
You  pity  my  weakness:   alas!  did  you  know 
The  joys  of  religion,  that  best  hidden  treasure, 

Would  you  bid  me  resign  them?     Ah,  never!  ah,  no  I 

"You  will  surely  rejoice  when  I  say  I've  received 
The  only  true  pleasure  attained  below. 
I  know  by  experience  in  whom  1  ve  believed: 

Shall  1  give  up  this  treasure?     Ah,  never  lab,  no! 

"  In  the  gay  scenes  of  life  I  was  happiness  wooing  ; 
But  all !  iu  her  stead  I  encountered  a  woe, 
And  found  1  was  only  a  phantom  pursuing: 
Never  once  did  I  find  her.     Ah,  never!  ah,  no! 

"But  in  these  bright  paths  which  j'ou  call  melancholy 
'  I've  found  those  delights  which  the  world  does  not  know. 
Oh,  did  you  partake  them,  you'd  then  see  your  folly, 
Nor  again  bid  me  fly  them!     Ah,  never!  ah,  no!" 

By  hearing  these  lines  his  prejudices  gave  way,  his 
feet  entered  the  narrow  path,  and  they  became  a  truly- 
happy  pair.  Dr.  Belcher. 


Decision  effected  by  a  hymn.  279 


A  hymn  Deciding  a  Soul's  Destiny. 

^N  the  Christian  at  Work,  Henry  P.  Thomjsson  gives 
'^  the  following  statements  : — 

"I  never  could  understand  it.  She  was  one  of 
the  brightest,  sweetest,  and  most  amiable  young  ladies 
I  ever  knew  ;  and  yet  she  and  her  mother,  who  was  a 
widow,  lived  with  her  grand-parents,  who,  with  the 
mother  and  an  only  uncle  and  an  only  brother,  were  the 
roughest  people  I  ever  knew.  And  it  was  not  only  the 
exterior  that  was  rough.  They  would  sw^ear,  and 
blackguard,  and  quarrel  with  each  other  in  public  or  in 
private. 

"  At  a  certain  time,  when  calling  at  the  house,  the 
young  lady,  at  my  request,  sat  at  the  instrument  and 
played  and  sang.  Presently  she  turned  to  a  j^articular 
tune,  and  said:  *I  think  this  is  so  beautiful,'  and,  as  she 
played,  sang  the  accompanying  "A^ords : — 

*'  '  I  am  weary  of  my  sin  ; 

0,  I  long  for  full  release  ; 
Saviour,  come  and  take  me  in 

With  thyself  to  dwell  in  peace. 
I  am  weary  of  the  earth, 

Where  the  wicked  spurn  thy  lore  ; 
With  thy  sons  of  heavenly  birth, 

Let  me  worship  thee  above. ' 

"  Pointing  to  the  words,  '  I  am  weary  of  my  sin ;  O,  I 
long  for  full  release ; '  I  said,  'Is  that  true  of  you,  Mary?' 
and  while  the  quick  tear  trembled  on  the  lid,  she  sweet- 
ly answered,  'Yes;  I  want  to  follow  Jesus.'  I  said, 
'For  such  He  waits,  and  will  receive  and  bless  them.' 

"At  the  next  communion  season  she  united  with  the 
church,  and  for  four  years,  adorned  her  profession  ;  till 
at  the  close  of  a  Sabbath  evening,  she  >vas  called  to 
join  the  church  above." 


U 


280  Samuel  Medley. 


"  0  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth.  " 

fHIS  hymn  was  penned  by  Rev.  Samuel  Medley,  who 
wrote  two  hundred  and  thirty  hymns,  Mhieh  were 
gathered  in  a  volume  the  year  after  his  death. 

He  was  engaged  as  midshipman  in  the  British  navy, 
and  on  various  occasions  engaired  in  battle,  in  which  at 
lengtli    in  a  fearful  conflict,  he  was  severely  wounded. 

Taken  to  his  grandfather's  house  for  surgical  treatment, 
he  was  brought  under  Christian  influence  and  at  length 
led  to  Christ  by  hearing  read  one  of  Dr.  Watts'  sermons. 
He  left  the  sea,  and  became  a  faithful  and  successful 
preacher  of  that  Saviour  whose  name  in  early  life  he  oft- 
en profaned.  For  twenty-seven  years  he  faithfully 
served  as  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  Liver- 
pool, England,  and  also  acted  as  one  of  the  supplies  of 
Lady  Huntingdon's  Tabernacle,  and  Tottenham -court 
Chapels  in  London. 

In  1799,  he  closed  his  earthly  career,  being  sixty-one 
years  of  age,  joyfully  exclaiming  just  before  his  dej)art- 
ure,  "  I  am  now  a  poor  shattered  bark,  just  about  to 
gain  the  blissful  harbor ;  and  O  how  sweet  will  be  the 
port  after  the  storm !  Dying  is  sweet  work,  sweet  work. 
I  am  looking  to  my  dear  Jesus,  my  God,  my  portion, 
my  all  in  all;  glory!  glory!  home!  home!" 

He  also  wrote  the  popular  hymn — 

"  Awake  my  soul  in  joyful  In  vs. 

And  sing  thy  great  Redeuner's  praise.  " 

The  sweet  echo  of  this  hymn  still  lingers  in  the  memory 
of  the  writer  as  the  one  frequently  used  to  give  ex- 
pression to  his  love  and  gratitude,  when,  as  a  child  in 
years  and  grace,  he  passed  from  death  unto  life. 

Some  touching  incidents  connected  with  the  singing 
of  the  first  named  hymn  are  given  on  the  next  page. 

r  g))  J 


SAMUEL  MEDLEY. 


.'Medley's  hymn.  283 


fN  affecting    circumstance    was  connected  with    the 
death  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Kaufman,  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  at   Matawan,  N.  J.     On  Sabbath 
afternoon,  Oct.  26th,  1873  as  he  was  reading  these  lines 
m  the  first  hymn : — 

"  Soon  the  delightful  day  will  come, 

W^hen  my  dear  Lord  will  call  me  home, 
And  I  shall  see  his  face,  " 

his  strength  gave  out,  and  he  sat  down  while  the  con- 
gregation sang  the  hymn  through.  Then  he  followed 
with  a  prayer  in  a  feeble  though  earnest  voice,  and  at  the 
word  "Amen,"  he  fell  over  in  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  from 
which  he  died  in  a  few  hours  after  being  taken  to  his 
home.  Mr.  Kaufman's  ago  was  forty-seven.  It  is 
stated,  as  a  very  singular  coincidence,  that  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Shafer,  who  was  pastor  of  the  same  church  about  thirty- 
three  years  ago,  fell  dead  in  his  pulpit  from  apoplexy, 
as  he  had  concluded  the  same  line  of  the  same  hymn  which 
Mr.  Kaufman  readjust  before  he  was  stricken. 


f  SIMILAR  illustration  of  the  sentiments  of  a  hymn 
was  also  given  in  the  death  of  Rev.  Joseph  Entwisle. 
At  ten  years  of  age  he  became  a  Christian  while  at 
Kingswood   School,  Eng.     He  entered  the  ministry  at 
twenty-five,  and  evinced  fervent  piety  throughout  a  long 
and  useful  life. 

On  a  Thursday  evening  in  1864,  he  was  preaching  at 
Moorside.      He  had  just  given  out  the  hymn: — 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,  " 
and  w^hilst  the  congregation  was  singing  the  fourth  line 
of  the  verse, — 

"And  rides  upon  the  storm,  " 
the  preacher  quietly  sank  down  in  the  pulpit,  and  died. 


284  Medley  continued. 


9^^ 


Medley's  Poetic  Answers. 

IN  1793  Rev-.  Samuel  Medley  gave  the  following  an- 
\  swers  to  printed  questions  sent  to  him  and  others  from 
London : 

Ques. — In  what  town  is  your  church? 

In  one  where  sin  makes  many  a  fool, 
Known  by  the  name  of  Liverpool. 

Que8. — Is  it  a  church,  chapel  or  meeting? 

Why,  my  g:ood  sir, — 'tis  very  true, 
'Tis  chapel,  church  and  meeting  too. 

Qiies, — By  what  denomination  is  your  church  known? 

By  one  that's  most  despised  of  all. 
Which  folks  in  general,  Baptists  call. 

Que8. — What  is  your  Christian  and  surname,  degree? 

My  Christian  name  is  called  Saint, 
My  surname  ratiier  odd  and  quaint, 

But  to  explain  the  whole  with  ease, 
Saint  Samuel  Medley,  if  you  please; 
And  you  from  hence  may  plainly  see, 

That  I  have  taken  a  degree. 

Ques. — Have  you  an  assistant? 

0  yes  !  I've  One  of  whom  I  boast, 
His  name  is  call'd  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Ques. — What  number  of  people  attend? 

A  many  come,  my  worthy  friend, 

I  dare  not  say  they  all  attend  ; 
But  though  so  many,  great  and  small, 

I  never  number  them  at  all. 
For  that  was  once  poor  David's  fall. 

§ites. — Is  it  encumbered  with  debt? 

Incumber'd  with  debt. 

It  is  certainly  yet, 
ThouT;h  I  at  the  present  don't  state  it; 

But  if  ever  from  home, 

I  a  begging  should  come, 
I'll  readily  to  you  relate  it. 


M 


c 


Charles  WesIey^s  hymn.  285 


First  Song  of  one  who  had  been  Speechless. 

tN  the  institution  for  feeble  minded  children,  formerly 
at  Germantown,  was  placed  a  little  child  from  Vir- 
ginia, who  had  been  speechless   from  her  birth. 

She  was  familiarly  known  as  "Beeca."  Dr.  Parrish, 
the  superintendent,  describes  her  as  one  afraid  of  every 
living  thing.  Blocks  and  sticks  she  would  nurse,  but  if 
a  nicely  dressed  doll  were  presented,  she  would  scream 
with  fear.  She  loved  nobody,  and  seemed  fond  of  hurt- 
ing little  children  and  destroying  their  playthings. 

Little  by  little  her  antipathies  and  coldness  of  disjjos- 
ition  gave  way  and  she  began  to  show  affection  for  her 
matron.  She  soon  began  to  love  to  sit  in  the  School 
room  with  other  children  and  listen  to  their  little  songs 
and  hymns.  In  her  eight  year  she  would  steal  away 
and  make  sounds  when  alone  in  some  hiding  place. 

One  summer  evening  her  nurse  had  put  her  in  her 
little  bed  early.  The  birds  were  singing  in  the  trees  by 
her  window;  the  sun  had  just  gone  away  and  left  his 
golden  shadows  on  the  western  sky ;  and  in  this  sweet  even- 
ing hour  of  twilight  tlie  imprisoned  soul  of  the  little 
child  broke  its  bands,  her  tongue  was  loosend,  and  she 
lifted  her  voice,  and  sung. 

The  nurse,  hearing  the  sound,  hastened  up  the  stair- 
way, and,  listening  outside  the  bed-room  door,  was  re- 
joiced to  hear  Becca  comingling  her  voice  with  the  bird 
choir  without,  and  as  her  first  utterance  the  a]ipropriate 
language  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymn,  she  had  heard  other 
children  sing: — 

"  Gentle  Jpsus,  meek  and  mild 
Look  upon  a  little  child  ! 
Pity  rav  simplicity ; 
Suffer  me  to  come  to  thee.  " 


286 


Medley^s  hymn  illustrated. 


Whosoever  will  '—0  gracious  word. " 

RECIOUS  is  the  gospel  invi- 
tation given  in  the  hymn  by 
Medley,  commencing: — 

"  0  what  amazing  words  of  grace 
Are  in  the  gospel  found. " 

The  line  at  the  head   of  this 
page  is  in  the  fourth  verse,  and 

J  tells  us  in  Scripture  language, 
who  is  invited. 

This  oft-repeated  Bible  word 
"whosoever"  became  the  link 
of  salvation  to  a  wicked  old  man,  who  lay  sick  and  dying. 

He  wanted  to  be  saved,  but  he  knew  no  Saviour  ;  he 
wanted  to  get  to  heaven,   but  he  did  not  know  the  way. 

"  Johnny "  said  he  to  liis  little  boy  one  day,  as 
the  child  sat  by  his  bedside,  "  could  you  read  to  me  a  bit  ?  " 

"  Yes,  father, "  he  said ;  "  I'll  read  to  you  as  much  as 
I  can  ;  only  I  can't  make  out  the  hard  words.  " 

So  the  old  man  told  his  child  to  try ;  and  as  the  little 
boy  read  from  the  Bil)le  the  father  leant  close  to  listen. 

Johnny  read  on  slowly  until  he  came  to  the  golden 
verse  which  says,  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that " 

He  stopped  there.  It  was  a  long  word,  and  poor  lit- 
tle Johnny  vainly  tried  to  make  it  out.  He  spelt  it  over 
again  and  again  ;  ])ut  at  last  he  said: — 

"  I  can't  make  it  out,  father;  I'll  just  miss  it,  and  go 
on  reading." 

So  he  began  again.     "  God  so  loved   the  world,   t'nat 

He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that believeth  in 

Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  " 

"  O  Johnny,  lad,"  said  tire  father,  eagerly,  "  I  do  wish 


C 


w 


Medley's  hymn  illustrated.  287 


you  could  make  out  that  word.  It's  just  what  I'm  waut- 
ing  to  know.     I  wonder  what  the  word  can  be  ! " 

The  old  man  felt  that  he  must  know.  It  was  such  an 
intensely  important  question  that  his  heart  was  asking 
now,  "  May  I  be  saved — is  heaven  for  me. "  Life  and 
death  depended  upon  it ;  an  eternity  of  joy  or  sorrow 
hung  on  the  word  that  Johnny  could  not  read. 

So  he  rose  from  his  bed  and  came  down  into  the  little 
room  below.  He  took  the  Bible  in  his  hands,  and  sat 
at  the  street  door  with  his  fingers  marking  the  word  that 
he  wanted  so  very  much  to  know\ 

By  nnd  by  a  man  came  quickly  down  the  street;  the 
house  d  lor  was  open,  and  the  old  man  heard  the  step,  for 
he  w;,s  sittiup;  there  waitino-  to  ask  any  one  who  should 

nil! 

pass  il  t'.iey  would  read  to  him  Johnny  s  hard  word. 

Just  as  he  was  passing,  the  old  man  called  to  him,  and 
asked  him  to  come  near  and  help  him ;  and  then  they  both 
bent  close  over  the  Bible  to  the  place  where  the  father's 
trembling  finger  still  marked  the  word. 

The  other  man  looked  at  it,  and  then  read,  "Whoso- 
ever. " 

"  ^Vhosoever?  "  said  the  old  man  ;  "  and  could  you  tell 
us  what  that  means  ?  " 

'*  Why  it  means  anybody, "  said  the  man,  as  he  turn- 
ed away,  and  went  down  the  street. 

Quickly  this  aged  sinner  laid  "hold  of  the  hope 
set  before  him,  "  as  he  now  saw  that  he  was  includ- 
ed in  the  "  whosoever. "  Gladly  he  took  God  at  his 
word,  believed,  was  saved,  and  was  enabled  with  eyes 
beaming  with  joy  to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  he 
should  exchange  worlds  and  fully  inherit  eternal  life. 


C 


288 


W.  A.  Muhlenburg. 


Author  of    "I  would  not  live  al way." 

fHIS  first  appeared  June  3,  1826,  in  the  Episcopal 
Recorder  of  Philadelphia,  as  a  part  of  a  poetical  com- 
position of  forty-eight  lines,  written  by  Rev.  W.  A. 
Muhlenburg,  D.  D.,  and  was  afterward  revised  by  him 
in  1865. 

As  a  committee  of  the  General  Convention  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  were  collecting  material  for  a  new  hymn- 
book,  Bishop  Onderdonk  presented  this  as  one  of  his 
selections.  The  author  was  then  unknown.  Dr.  Muh- 
lenburg was  a  member  of  the  Convention,  and  argued 
against  its  admission.  But  though  at  first  rejected,  it 
was,  by  the  importunity  of  Dr.  Onderdonk,  finally  in- 
serted in  the  "Hymns  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church." 

Dr.  Muhlenburg  is  descended  "from  a  family  of  rev- 
olutionary fame. " 

In  1823,  he  was  associate  rector  of  St.  James  Church, 
Lancaster,  Pa.;  afterwards  made  Principal  of  St.  Paul's 
College;  then  rector  of  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  and  of  the 
church  of  the  "Holy  Communion,"  New  York  City. 

In  1828,  he  issued  a  work  consisting  of  "Church 
Poetry,"  and  in  1858,  "The  People's  Psalter." 

We  append  the  last  verse  of  his  hymn  that  is  not 
found  in  the  hymn-books: — 

"  That  heavenl}^  music  !  hark  sweet  in  the  air 
The  notes  of  the  haipers,  how  clear  ringing  there  ! 
And  see,  soft  tinfolding  those  portals  of  gold, 
The  king  all  arrayed  in  His  beauty  behold  ! 
Oh,  give  me,  oh,  give  me  the  wings  of  a  dove. 
To  adore  Him,  be  near  Him,  enwrapt  with  His  love  : 
I  hut  wait  for  the  summons,  I  list  for  the  word, 
Allelujah,  A.nen,  evermore  ^vith  the  Lord!" 

Dr.  Muhlenburg  has  given  a  new  addition  to  this  old 
hymn. 


C 


Moore's  hymn  illustrated.  289 


"  Earth  has  no  sorrows  that  heaven  cannot  cure. " 
rt^HlTS  ends  each  verse  of  the  consoling  hymu, — 


^^  "  Come,  ye  disconsolate,   where'er  ye  languish.  " 

As  an  illustration  we  give  the  following  narrative 
sent  to  the  *'  Guide  to  Holiness.  " 

A  physician  in  Illinois  had  been  for  fifteen  years  so 
affl'icted  with  sore  eyes,  that  at  times  he  M^as  compelled  to 
shut  himself  up  in  a  darkened  room  for  weeks. 

''  Nov.  1.  1871  his  eyes  being  worse,  he  went  to  the 
city  for  medical  counsel,  but  all  said  'Doctor,  there  is 
no  hope  for  you,  you  will  become  quite  blind  in  three 
months. '  He  returned  to  his  home  with  a  sad  heart, 
and  his  wife  and  daughters  deeply  sympathized  with 
him. 

"  A  few  evenings  after  his  getting  home,  all,  as  was 
their  custom,  retired  for  their  secret,  or  private  prayers, 
and  all  felt  deeply  impressed  to  make  the  matter  an  ob- 
ject of  special  prayer.  The  doctor  said,  'O  blessed  Je- 
sus, I  come  to  Thee  for  help :  I  want  to  both  suffer  and 
to  do  Thy  wall.  If  it  is  for  my  good,  and  Thy  glory 
that  I  should  go  blind.  Thy  will  be  done.  But  if  I  can 
do  more  good,  and  glorify  Thee  more  perfectly  with  sight, 
then  let  me  see ;  but  Thy  will  be  done,  and  not  mine. ' 

"Said  he  to  me;  'It  appeared  as  if  Jesus  touched  my 
eyes,  for  in  one  moment  I  was  perfectly  cured.  I  rose 
to  tell  my  family  the  good  news,  and  my  wife  met  me 
at  the  door,  and  said :  '  Doctor,  I  do  believe  that  Jesus 
w'ill  give  you  sight, '  but  before  I  had  time  to  answer, 
my  daughters  came  running  to  me,  both  saying,  'Pa,  I 
know  Jesus  will  hear  us  pray  for  your  sight.'  Said  he, 
'  I  told  them  that  He  had  already  cured  my  eyes.  It 
was  then  too  dark  for  them  to  see,  but  as  soon  as  a  lijjht 
was  struck,  all  saw  that  my  eyes  were  perfectly  cured, 
and  they  stay  cured. ' " 


c 


290  James  Montgomery. 


Montgomery  and  his  hymns. 

tAMES  MONTGOMERY,  who  is  sometimes  called 
the  Covvper  of  the  nineteenth  century,  was  the  son  of 
an  earnest  Moravian  minister,  the  Rev.  John  Mont- 
gomery. He  was  born  at  Irvine,  Scotland,  on  the  4  th  of 
November  1771.  At  the  tender  age  of  six  he  was  placed 
under  the  paternal  guardianship  of  the  Brethern  at  Ful- 
neck,  England  where  he  received  his  early  schooling. 
Speaking  of  the  Christian  influence  surrounding  the 
school  he  says  "  Whatever  we  did,  was  done  in  the  name 
and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  whom  we  were  taught 
to  regard  in  the  amiable  and  endearing  light  of  a  friend 
and  brother.  A  change  having  been  made  in  their  or- 
dinary beverage  one  day,  a  little  fellow  knelt  down  and 
said,  "  Oh  Lord,  bless  us  little  children,  and  make  us 
very  good !  We  thank  thee  for  what  we  have  received. 
Oh,  bless  this  good  chocolate,  and  give  us  more  of  it." 

How  beautifully  in  after  years   he  thus  describes  his 
childhood  experience  at  Fulneck. 

"  Here  while  I  roved  a  heedless  boy 
Here  while  through  paths  of  peace  I  ran,    9 
My  feet  were  vexed  with  puny  snares, 
My  bosom  stung  with  insect  cares  ; 
But  ah  !  what  light  and  little  things 
Are  childhood's  woes  ! — they  break  no  rest! 

After  referring  to  the  skylark's  music  he  continues : — 

Like  him.  on  these  delightful  plains, 
I  taught,  with  fearless  v(nce, 
The  echoing  woods  to  sound  my  strains, 
The  mountains  to  rejoice. 
Hail !  to  the  trees,  beneath  whose  shade, 
Rapt  into  worlds  unseen,  I  strayed  : 
Hail  1  to  the  streams  that  purled  along 
In  hoarse  accordance  to  my  song — 
My  song  that  poured  uncensured  lays 
Tuned  to  a  dying  Saviour's  praise, 
In  numbers  simple,  wild,  and  sweet. 
As  were  the  flowers  beneath  my  feet." 


Montgomery  continued.  293 


In  liis  tenth  year,  Montgomery  began  to  write  poetry. 
So  little  inclination  had  he  for  his  school  studies,  that, 
when  fourteen,  his  friends  placed  him  in  a  retail  shop 
at  Mirfield.  Writing  poetry  engrossed  his  attention  above 
every  thing  else.  Speaking  of  this  period,  in  later  years, 
he  says: — 

"  When  I  was  a  boy  I  wrote  a  great  many  hymns ; 
indeed,  the  first  fruits  of  my  mind  were  all  consecrated  to 
Him,  who  never  despises  the  day  of  small  things,  even 
to  the  poorest  of  His  creatures." 

The  paraphrase  of  the  113th  Psalm  is  the  product  of 
these  boyhood  da^'S.  The  Archbishop  of  York  was  so 
pleased  with  it,  that  he  gave  it  a  place  in  a  collection  of 
hymns  for  the  use  of  his  diocese.  The  following  lines, 
that  form  part  of  his  hymn  on  "Praise  for  God's  Conde- 
sension,"  was  also  written,  it  is  said,  while  a  youth  at 
Mirfield:— 

"  Servants  of  God  !  in  joj'ful  lays. 
Sing  ye  the  Lord  Jehovah's  praise  ; 
His  glorious  name  let  all  adore, 
From  age  to  age,  for  evermore." 

Tiie  parents  of  Montgomery  having  embarked  for  the 
missionary  field,  he  resolved,  when  sixteen,  to  cut  loose 
his  moorings  at  Mirfield,  and  start  out  upon  the  sea  of 
adventure.  How  or  where  to  steer  his  course  he  did  not 
know.  On  the  second  evening  he  landed  at  Wentworth 
Inn,  with  a  little  pack  of  clothing  on  his  back,  a  little 
poetry  in  his  pocket,  and  only  three  and  sixpence  in  his 
money-purse.  Hearing  of  a  benevolent  man,  residing 
near  by,  he  offered  to  sell  some  of  his  poetry.  The  kind 
hearted  Earl  Fitzwilliam  read  his  little  poem,  and  gave 
the  young  blushing  poet  a  gold  guinea,  which  seemed 
like  a  heaven-sent  supply  in  this  his  time  of  need.  On 
the  fourth  day,  he  secured  a  position  with  a  grocer  at 
Wath. 


294  Montgomery  continued. 


C 


Here  he  remained  a  year,  when  he  resolved  to  try  to 
sell  a  volume  of  his  manuscript  poems  at  London.  He 
first  applied  to  Mr.  Harrison,  a  bookseller.  Pie  de- 
clined the  oifer,  but  kindly  tendered  to  him  a  position  as 
clerk  in  his  store.  This  he  accepted,  and  during  the 
following  year  made  several  other  fruitless  attempts  to 
get  into  the  market  with  his  manuscripts.  At  length  he 
read  of  an  opening  in  the  office  of  the  editor  of  the 
Sheffield  Register^  a  prominent  weekly  of  some  note  in  its 
day.  This  led  to  a  visit  to  Sheffield,  and  a  home  in  the 
family  of  its  editor,  Mr.  Joseph  Gales. 

In  1794,  for  fear  of  prosecution  for  some  articles  of 
a  political  caste,  Mr  Gales  left  England,  when  Mont- 
gomery took  his  place,  and  changed  the  title  of  the  paper 
to  the  "Iris,"  and  of  this  he  continued  the  editor  for 
thirty-one  years.  Twice  he  was  imprisoned.  First  for 
reprinting  a  song  commemorating  the  fall  of  the  Bastile, 
and  again  in  1795  for  a  description  of  the  riot  at  Sheffield, 
articles  that  were  too  liberal  for  the  government  of  that 
day.  While  in  prison,  he  wrote  short  poems  on  "Prison 
Amusements." 

In  1806,  appeared  his  "Wanderer  of  Switzerland;" 
the  following  vear,  "The  West  Indies;"  in  1813,  "The 
World  before 'the  Flood;"  in  1819,  " Greenland ;"  and 
in  1828,  the  last  of  his  longer  poems,  "The  Pelican 
Island;"  in  1833,  he  received  a  royal  pension  of  200^. 
a  year. 

In  1836,  Montgomery,  with  Annie  and  Sarah  Gales, 
his  adopted  sistei'S  moved  to  the  famous  "  Mount, "  at  the 
west  end  of  Sheffield  a  beautiful  situation  which  he  de- 
scribes as  "on  the  highest  point,  and  overlooking  all 
below,  at  a  safe  distance  from  the  smoke,  the  smells,  the 
bustle  and  all  the  goings  on  of  human  life  in  this  strange 
j)lace."  Not  long  afterwards  he  had  occasion  to  write, 
"  We  are  one  less  at  the  Mount.     Dear  Anna  departed 


Montgomery  continued.  297 


yesterday  morning,  and  broke  the  threefold  cord  that 
bound  herself,  her  sister,  and  me  in  domestic  affection 
for  more  than  five  and  forty  years." 

Here  he  remained  eighteen  years,  till  life's  sunset  be- 
gan to  tinge  the  sunirnit  of  this  hallowed  Mount.  As 
the  evening  shades  of  old  age  gathered  around,  none  of 
his  hymns  were  so  expressive  of  his  feelings  as  the  one, 
'*  At  Home  in  Heaven."  Said  he:  ^' I  received  directly 
and  indirectly  more  testimonials  of  approbation,  in  refer- 
ence to  these  verses,  than  perhaps  any  other  which  I  have 
written  of  the  same  class,  with  the  exception  of  those  on 
'Prayer.'" 

One  day  he  placed  in  Mr.  Holland's  hands  some  tran- 
scripts of  his  original  hymns,  that  he  wished  him  to  read 
aloud  in  his  hearing.  After  listening  for  a  while  his  full 
heart  overflowed  in  many  tears.  As  Mr.  Holland  de- 
sisted, he  said: — 

"Read  on,  I  am  glad  to  hear  you.  The  words  recall 
the  feelings  which  first  suggested  them,  and  it  is  good  for 
me  to  feel  affected  and  humbled  by  the  terms  in  which 
I  have  endeavored  to  provide  for  the  expression  of  sim- 
ilar religious  experience  in  others.  As  all  my  hymns 
embody  some  portions  of  the  history  of  the  joys  or  sor- 
rows, the  hopes  and  fears  of  this  poor  heart,  so  I  cannot 
doubt  but  that  they  will  be  found  an  acceptable  vehicle 
of  expression  of  the  experience  of  many  of  my  fellow 
creatures  who  may  be  similarly  exercised  during  the 
pilgrimage  of  their  Christian  lifs." 

Hence  at  one  period  of  his  life  his  restless  heart 
exclaims: — 

"What  can  I  do?  I  am  tossed  to  an  fro  on  the  sea  of 
doubts  and  perplexities;  the  further  I  am  carried  from 
that  shore  where  (nice  I  was  happily  moored,  the  Aveaker 
grow  my  hopes  of  ever  reaching  another,  where  I  may 
anchor  in  safety."     And  again : — 


c 


298  Montgomery  continued. 


"My  restless,  and  imaginative  mind,  and  my  wild  and 
ungovernable  imagination  have  long  ago  broken  loose 
from  the  anchor  of  faith,  aud  have  been  driven,  the  sport 
of  winds  and  waves,  over  an  ocean  of  doubts,  round  which 
every  coast  is  defended  by  the  rocks  of  despair  that  for- 
bid me  to  enter  the  harbor  in  view."  This  was  one  of 
the  "portions  of  the  history,"  to  which  he  refers,  that 
afterwards  enabled  him  to  Avrite  from  experience,  when 
he  penned  that  well-known  hymn : — 

"  0  where  shall  rest  be  found, 
Rest  for  the  weary  soul  V 
'Twere  vain  the  ocean  depths  to  sound, 
Or  pierce  to  either  pole." 

"  The  world  can  never  give 

The  bliss  for  which  we  sigh  ; 
'Tis  not  the  whole  of  life  to  live, 
Nor  all  of  death  to  die." 

Montgomery  did  not  become  fully  assured  of  his  sal- 
vation till  in  his  forty-third  year,  when  he  wrote  to  his 
brother,  saying,  "On  my  birth-day,  after  many  delays, 
and  misgivings,  and  repentings,  I  wrote  to  Fulneck  for 
re-admission  into  the  Brethren's  congregation ;  and  on 
Tuesday,  December  6,  the  lot  fell  to  me  in  that  pleasant 
place,  and  on  Sunday  last  I  was  publicly  invested  with 
my  title  to  that  goodly  heritage."  After  referring  to  the 
Saviour  he  adds :  "To  him  and  to  his  people  I  have  again 
devoted  myself,  and  may  he  make  me  faithfid  to  my  cov- 
enant with  him,  as  I  know  he  will  be  faithful  to  his  cov- 
enant witli  me!  Rejoice  with'me,  my  dearest  friends,  for 
this  unspeakable  ])rivilege  bestowed  on  so  unworthy  and 
ungrateful  a  prodigal  as  I  have  been.  Tell  all  the  good 
brethren  and  sisters  whom  I  knew  at  Bristol,  this  great 
thing  which  the  Lord  hath  done  unto  me." 

This  experience  he  afterwards  versified  in  his  sweet 
hymn — 

C  g)i 


Montgomery  continued.  299 


"  People  of  the  living  God, 

I  liave  sought  the  world  around, 
Paths  of  sin  and  sorrow  trod, 

Peace  and  comfort  nowhere  found, 
Now  to  you  my  spirit  turns, 

Tunis,  a  fugitive  unblest; 
Brethren,  where  your  altar  burns, 

0  receive  me  into  rest ! 
"Lonely  I  no  longer  roam. 

Like  the  cloud,  the  wind,  the  wave  ; 
Where  you  dwell  shall  be  my  home, 

Wheie  you  die  shall  be  my  grave; 
Mine  the  God  whom  you  adore, 

Your  Redeemer  shall  be  mine  ; 
Earth  can  fill  my  heart  no  more, 

Every  idol  I  resign.'' 

He  issued,  in  1825,  "The  Christian  Psalmist,"  con- 
taining one  hundred  and  three  of  his  own  hymns,  and  in 
1833,  "Original  Hymns  for  Public,  Social  and  Private 
Devotion." 

The  last  day  he  spent  on  earth  he  seemed  as  well  as 
usual.  In  the  evening  worship  he  led  in  prayer  with  an 
earnestness  and  pathos  that  excited  special  attention. 
Little  was  it  thought  to  be  an  illustration  of  his  hymn : — 

"Prayer  is  the  'Christian's  vital  breath. 
The  Christian's  native  air: 
His  watchword  at  the  gates  of  death — 
lie  enters  heaven  with  prayer." 

Next  morning  there  being  no  response  to  the  knock  at 

his  door,  it  was  opened,  when  he  was  found  insensible  on 

the   floor.     Consciousness   returned  for  a  while,  and  he 

lingered  on   till  the  afternoon,   M'hen,  as  Mrs.    Gales  sat 

by  his  bedside,  he  seemed  to  sink  away  in  sleep.     But 

"  No — life  had  sweetly  ceased  to  be  : 
It  lapsed  in  immortality." 

It  was  thus  on  the  30th  of  April,  1854,  that  he  fully 
realized  the  language  expressed  in  his  hymn: — 

"  Forever  with  the  Lord  ! — 
Amen !  so  let  it  be.  " 


)00  James  Montgomery' s  disappointment. 


TTninarried  Hymnists. 

E  give  in  other  articles  the  facts  in  relation  to  ihe 
disappointed  love  that  caused  Covvper,  Watts,  Anne 
[Steele,  and  other  h)'mn  writers,  to  remain  unmar- 
ried. The  following,  in  relation  to  Montgomery,  will  be 
read  with  interest.  The  expressive  stanzas  are  believed 
by  his  biographers  to  be  autobiographical  and  "  founded  on 
fact."     Says  one : — 

"  Wath  must  be  set  down  as  the  scene  of  an  early  and 
only  love.  The  identity  of  the  heroine,  who  gives  iiame 
to  the  poem  supposed  to  disclose  the  secrets  of  the  heart, 
has  sorely  puzzled  his  friends.  Of  *  Hannah '  the  poet 
himself  gave  no  clue.  Village  tradition  points  to  Miss 
Turner,  the  young  mistress  of  a  fine  old  family  man- 
sion between  Wath  and  Barnsley,  where  sometimes 
he  visited." 

The  first  verse  of  his  little  poem  commences  thus : — 

"  At  fond  sixteen  my  roving  heart 
Was  pierced  by  Love's  delightful  dart; 
Keen  transport  throbbed  through  every  vein, 
I  never  felt  so  sweet  a  pain." 

The  period  at  which  he  "  felt  so  sweet  a  pain"  was,  it  is 
supposed,  about  the  year  1789,  when  be  was  acting  as 
clerk  at  Wath,  and  spending  his  leisure  hours  in  intel- 
lectual pursuits. 

After  an  interval  of  changing  hopes  and  fears  he  says: 

"  When  sick  at  heart  with  hope  delayed, 
Oft  the  dear  image  of  that  maid 
Glanced  like  a  rainbow  o'er  his  mind 
And  promised  happiness  behind. 


Then 


"  The  storm  blew  o'er,  and  in  my  breast 
The  Halcyon,  Peace,  rebuilt  her  nest; 
The  storm  blew  o'er,  and  clear  and  mild 
The  sea  of  youth  and  pleasure  smiled. 


c 


Montgomery  continued.  301 


"  'Twas  on  the  merry  morn  of  May, 
To  Hannah's  cot  I  took  my  way ; 
My  eager  hopes  were  on  the  wing, 
Like  swallows  sporting  in  the  spring. 

"Then  as  I  climbed  the  mountains  o'er, 
I  lived  my  wooing  days  once  more ; 
And  fancy  sketched  my  married  lot, 
My  wife,  my  children,  and  my  cot. 

"  I  saw  the  village  steeple  rise, — 
My  soul  sprang,  sparkling,  to  my  eyes ; 
The  rural  bells  rang  sweet  and  clear, — 
My  fond  heart  listened  in  mine  ear. 

"I  reached  the  hamlet; — all  was  gay; 
I  love  a  rustic  holiday  ; 
I  met  a  wedding — stept  aside  ; 
It  passed — my  Hannah  was  the  bride  I 

"  There  is  a  grief  that  cannot  feel ; 
It  leaves  a  wound  that  will  not  heal ; 
My  heart  grew  cold — it  felt  not  then ; 
When  shall  it  cease  to  feel  again.  " 


h;)OWPER  was  ardently  attached  to  his  beautiful  and 
^5  accomplished  cousin,  Theodora  Jane  Cowper,  l)ut  her 
father,  Ashley  Cowper,  considered  the  relationship 
between  them  too  close  to  admit  of  marriage.  There  was 
a  long  and  painful  struggle  between  love  and  filial  obedi- 
ence before  they  resigned  all  hope  of  being  thus  united. 
The  following  lines  are  supposed  to  depict  Cowper's 
fading  vision  of  happiness  : — 

"  But  now  sole  partner  in  my  Delia's  heart. 
Yet  doom'd  far  off  in  exile  to  complain, 
Eternal  absence  cannot  ease  my  smart, 

And  hope  subsists  but  to  prolong  my  pain. 

"  Oh  then,  kind  Heaven  !  be  this  my  latest  breath  ; 
Here  end  my  life,  or  make  it  worth  my  care; 
Absence  from  whom  we  love  is  worse  than  death, 
And  frustrate  hope  severer  than  despair." 


302  John  Berridge. 


Why  Mr.  Berridg^e  Remained  Unmarried. 

fEV.  JOHN  BERRIDGE,  the  author  of  a  book  of 
hymns,  explains  in  a  letter  to  the  Countess  of  Hunt- 
ingdon why  he  lived  the  life  of  a  bachelor: — 

''  To  Lady  Huntingdon,  March  23rd,  1770:  Eight  or 
nine  years  ago,  having  been  grieviously  tormented  with 
liousekeepers,  I  truly  had  thoughts  of  looking  out  for  a 
Jezebel  myself.  But  it  seemed  highly  needful  to  ask 
advice  of  the  Lord.  So,  falling  down  on  my  knees  be- 
fore a  table,  with  a  Bible  between  my  hands,  I  besought 
the  Lord  to  give  me  a  direction ;  then  letting  the  Bible 
fall  open  of  itself,  T  fixed  my  eyes  immediately  on  these 
words,  'When  my  son  was  entered  into  his  wedding 
chamber,  he  fell  down  and  died.'  (2  Esdras  x.  L)  This 
frightened  me  heartily,  you  may  easily  think;  but  Satan, 
who  stood  peeping  at  my  elbow,  not  liking  the  heavenly 
caution,  presently  suggested  a  scruple,  that  the  book  was 
apocryphal,  and  the  words  not  to  be  heeded.  Well,  after 
a  short  pause,  I  fell  on  my  knees  again,  and  prayed 
the  Lord  not  to  be  angry  with  me,  whilst,  like  Gideon, 
I  requested  a  second  sign,  and  from  the  canonical  Script- 
ure; then  letting  my  Bible  fall  open  as  before,  I  fixed 
my  eyes  directly  on  this  passage,  'Thou  shalt  not  take 
thee  a  wife,  neither  shalt  thou  have  sons  or  daughters  in 
this  place.'  I  was  now  completely  satisfied,  and  was 
thus  made  acquainted  with  my  Lord's  will." 

A  lady  came  to  see  him  one  day,  in  her  carriage,  to 
solicit  his  hand  in  marriage,  assuring  him  that  the  Lord 
had  revealed  it  to  her  that  she  was  to  become  his  wife. 
"Madam,"  said  he  in  reply,  "if  the  Lord  has  revealed 
it  to  you  that  you  are  to  be  my  wife,  surely  he  would 
also  have  revealed  it  to  me  that  I  was  designed  to  be 
your  husband ;  but  as  no  such  revelation  has  been  made 
to  me,  I  cannot  comply  with  your  wishes." 

C  ft' 


George  Neumark.  303 


•^  An  Impromptu  Hymn  and  Tune. 

fT  the  close  of  the  thirty  years'  war  in  Germany, 
George  Neumark  found  himself  in  want,  as  dul  rn^.y 
others.  He  was  born  at  Thurigen,  March  16,  1621, 
iust  ?wo  years  after  the  commencement  of  the  long  strife. 
•^  Havino-  studied  law  in  the  University  of  which  Simon 
Dacht?  eminent  poet  and  musician,  was  President,  he 
became  like  him,  also  distinguished  for  his  poetical  and 

"^^^lil^'suLed  many  privations  while  seeking  em- 
ployment%t  Dantzic  aiul  Thorn,  1- jried  to^mp  o 
hisYortune,  by  going  to  Hamburg,  in   16ol.      iheie  ne 
obtained  a'preefrioul  subsistence  by  the  use  of  his  vio- 
foncello,  a  sk-stringed  instru^nent,  m  use  m  those  da>s, 
nnon  which  he  played  most  charmingly. 
"Tut  ate  a  JhiL  he  .-as  taken  -*.  -f -;  J,;" 
train  a  suPDort  by  his  musical  tours.     INot  wishing  to 
S  1  is'abject  poverty,  and  as  his  last  resort,  he  took 
h    t,lin  to'a  Je\v,  who  loaned    "">  ^  ^'»f  j"'* 
tlie  understanding  that  if  it  was  not  redeemed  « ithin  t«o 
Aveek'j  he  was  to  forfeit  it.  .  ,    ,      r  i        ^ 

As  he  reluctantly  gave  it  to  the  Jew  with  tearful  eyes, 
it  seemed  like  the  sundering  of  heart-strings 

Said  he-  "You  know  not  how  hard  it  is  to  part  tiom 
th^llin.     For  ten  years  it  has  been  ^Y^^?;] 
and  comforter.     If  I  have  nothing  ^^f '  {^^^^  ^^f^^    I 
at  the  worst,  it  spoke  to  me,  and  sung  back  all  m>  coui 
ge  and  hop'e.     Of  all  the  sad  hearts  that  ^   ^ft  ,|our 
d?or,  there  lias  been  none  so  sad  as  mine      Wer«^*  pos 
sible   I  would  ten  times  rather  pawn  to  }0U  mv  very 
heart's  bood  than  this  sweetner  of  my  poverty      Believe 
nie    Nathan,    amon^  all  the  unfortunate   whom  stem 
^c'essity  has'  compelled  to  pawn  to  you  their  little  a 
I   am  the    most  so."     Here  his    enlotions  choked  his 


304  Neumark  continued. 


utterance.  Seizing  the  instrument  again,  he  played  a 
sweet  melody,  while  he  sang  two  stanzas  of  his  hymn : 

"  I  am  weary,  I  am  weary, 

Take  me,  dearest  Lord,  away; 
In  this  world  so  bleak  and  dreary, 

I  wonld  fain  no  longer  staj'  1 
For  my  life  is  nought  to  me, 
But  one  scene  of  misery  ! 

Suddenly  his  melancholy  and  plaintive  notes  ceased,  and 
he  commenced  in  a  cheerful  strain  to  sing: — 

"  Yet  who  knows,  but  all  this  sadness, 

Will  be  made  in  joy  to  end  ; 
And  this  heart  be  filled  with  gladness, 

Which  is  now  with  sorrow  rent. 
For  the  pleasures  here  we  gain, 
Often  cause  eternal  pain  !  " 

As  he  ceased,  the  tears  were  coursing  down  his  cheeks 
and  his  voice  trembled  with  the  deep  emotion  within. 

As  he  gave  the  instrument  a  sad  adieu  he  meekly  said, 
'•'As  the  Lord  will  I  am  still."  Then,  as  Avith  a  heart 
swelling  with  sorrow,  he  rushed  out  of  the  door,  he  ran 
a^^-ainst  some  one  who  had  been  held  spell-bound  by  his 
sweet  music. 

"Pardon  me.  Sir,"  said  the  stranger,  "the  hymn  you 
have  just  sung  has  deeply  affected  me,  where  can  I  get 
a  copy  of  it?  I  will  amply  pay  you  for  it.  It  just  meets 
my  case." 

"  j\Iy  good  friend,"  said  Neumark,  "your  wish  shall 
be  granted.  " 

Tins  listener  was  John  Guteg,  the  servant  of  the 
Swedish  ambassador.  Baron  Von  Rosenkranz. 

He  gave  the  baron  an  accouTit  of  this  musical  genius, 
of  his  }>overty,  of  his  pawning  his  favorite  instrument 
j  as  a  last  resort,  an<l  of  the  hymn  he  sang  of  which  he 
had  the  copv.     The  story  interested  the  ambassador,  he 


Neumark  continued.  305 


r 


sent  for  the  sweet  singer,  and  gave  him  at  once  a  remu- 
nerativ^e  position  as  secretary. 

Neumark  M'as  now  enabled  to  reclaim  his  instrument. 

Calling  at  the  house  of  his  landlady,  who  had  sympa- 
thized with  him  in  his  misfortunes,  he  told  her  the  good 
news.  Soon  the  room  was  crowded  w^ith  friends  and 
neighbors  to  hear  him  sing  and  play  again. 

With  a  heart  swelling  with  gratitude,  in  an  impromptu 
manner,  he  sang,  what  has  ever  since  been,  one  of  the 
most  popular  German  hymns : — 

•'  TTer  nur  den  lieben  Gott  lassst  walten.  " 

It  has  been  translated  as  follows: — 

"Leave  God  to  order  all  thj  ways, 
And  hope  in  Him,  M"hnte"er  betide, 
Thou'lt  find  him  in  the  evil  days, 
Thine  all-sufficient  strength  and  guide. 
Who  trusts  in  God's  unchanging  love, 
Builds  on  the  rock  that  ne  er  can  move." 

Thus  he  offered  his  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  had 
helped  him  in  this  his  time  of  need.  To  the  inquiry 
as  to  whether  he  had  composed  the  hymn  himselfj  ho 
meekly  answered:  "Well,  yes,  I  am  the  instrument,  but 
God  swept  the'  strings.  All  I  knew  was  that  these  words, 
'Who  trusts  in  God's  unchanging  love,'  lay  like  a  soft 
burden  upon  my  heart.  I  went  over  them  again  and 
again,  and  so  they  shaped  themselves  into  song,  how  I 
cannot  tell.  I  began  to  sing,  and  to  pray  for  joy,  and 
my  soul  blessed  the  Lord ;  and  word  followed  word  like 
water  from  a  fountain." 

After  being  employed  for  two  years  as  the  secretary, 
the  noble  Lord  Von  Rosenkrantz  obtained  for  him  the 
more  lucrative  situation  as  Keeper  of  the  Archives,  and 
Librarian  at  Weimar,  where  he  died  in  1688. 


W 


r 


30G  John  Newton's  awahcning. 


"  Amazing  grace  !  how  sweet  the  sound, 
That  saved  a  wretch  like  me. 

"  In  evil  long  I  took  delight, 
Unawed  by  shame  or  fear.  " 

f^  

rt^HESE  two  hymns  of  John  Newton,  issued  in  1779, 
^  were  photographs  of  his  past  experience. 

He  was  born  in  London  on  the  24th  of  July,  1725, 
His  father  had  charge  of  a  ship  engaged  in  tlie  Medi- 
terranean trade. 

When  a  young  man  he  gave  himself  up  to  a  sea-faring 
life,  and,  being  impressed,  was  put  on  board  the  Har- 
wick  man-of-war,  where  he  gave  vent  to  all  his  corrupt 
passions,  and  yielded  himself  to  the  influence  of  the  bald- 
est infidelity.  While  the  boat  lay  at  Plymouth  he  de- 
serted, was  caught,  brought  back  and  kept  in'  irons,  then 
publicly  stri])ped  and  whipped,  after  which  he  was  de- 
graded from  the  office  of  midshipman,  and  his  companions 
forbidden  to  show  him  the  least  favor  or  even  to  speak 
to  him.  He  was  thus  brought  down  to  a  level  with  the 
lowest  and  exposed  to  the  insults  of  all. 

During  the  following  five  years  he  got  leave  to  be 
exchanged  and  entered  a  vessel  bound  for  the  African 
coast.  Here  he  became  the  servant  of  a  slave  trader, 
who  with  his  wife  treated  him  with  savage  cruelty.  For 
fifteen  months  he  lived  in  the  most  abject  bondage. 

Writing  to  his  father,  arrangements  were  made  for  a 
vessel  to  call  for  him  and  to  bring  him  home. 

While  on  the  voyage  home  he  found  on  the  boat  a 
copy  of  Stanhope's  Thomas  a  Kemj)is,  that  he  read  to 
pass  away  the  time.  While  perusing  it,  the  thought 
flashed  across  his  mind:  *'  What  if  these  things  should 
he  true. " 

The  following  night  a  fearful  storm  arose.  A  friend, 
who  took  his  place  for  a  moment,  was  swept  overboard. 


Newton'a  hymn.  309 


For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  boat  would  be  shivered 
to  atoms.  During  the  calm  that  followed,  a  tempest  of 
sin  arose  within  his  bosom.  His  crimes,  infidel  scoffings, 
and  many  narrow  escapes  from  sudden  death,  passed 
before  his  mind  in  dark  array. 

Then  says  he :  "  I  began  to  pray ;  I  could  not  utter  the 
prayer  of  faith,  I  could  not  draw  near  to  a  reconciled 
God,  and  call  him  Father:  my  prayer  was  like  the  cry 
of  the  ravens,  which  yet  the  Lord  does  not  disdain  to 
hear.  I  now  began  to  think  of  the  Jesus  whom  I  had  so 
often  offended.  I  recollected  the  particulars  of  his  life 
and  death;  a  death  for  sins  not  his  own,  but  for  those, 
who,  in  their  distress,  should  put  their  trust  in  him.  .  . 
In  perusing  the  New  Testament,  I  was  struck  with 
several  passages,  particularly  the  prodigal — a  case  that 
had  never  been  so  nearly  exemplified,  as  by  myself — 
and  then  the  goodness  of  the  father  in  receiving,  nay,  in 
running  to  meet  such  a  son,  and  this  intended  only  to 
illustrate  the  Lord's  goodness  to  returning  sinners  this 
gained  upon  me. "  Thus  he  became,  as  he  says,  "  a  new 
man. " 

In  after  years  he  brought  out  his  experience  in  verse, 
on  this  wise : — 

"  I  hear  the  tempest's  awful  sound, 
I  feel  the  vessel's  quick  rebound  ; 
And  fear  might  now  my  bosom  fill. 
But  Jesus  tells  me,  '  Peace  !  Be  still ! ' 

"  In  this  dread  hour  I  cling  to  Thee, 
My  Saviour  crucified  for  me. 
If  that  I  perish  be  Thy  will, 
In  death,  Lord,  whisper,  '  Peace  !  Be  still ! ' 

"  Hark  !  He  has  listened  while  I  prayed. 
Slowly  the  tempest  s  rage  is  stayed  ; 
Tlie  yielding  waves  obey  His  will, 
Jesus  hath  bid  them,  '  Peace  !  Be  still  I ' " 


310  John  Newton^ s  mother 


A  Mother's  Prayer  and  Her  Son's  Hymn. 

"Jesus,  the  Lord,  will  hear 
ills  cliosen  when  they  cry, 
Yea,  thouofh  awhile  he  may  forbear, 
He'll  help  them  from  on  high.  ' 

fHIS  verse,  taken  from  Newton's  oft-re|)eated  hjmn- 
"  Jesus,  who  knows  full  well 
The  heart  of  every  saint,  " 

Avas  illustrative  of  his  own  history.  He  was  the  child 
of  many  prayers.  Says  he :  "  I  can  sometimes  feel  a  pleas- 
ure in  repeating  the  grateful  acknowledgment  of  David, 
'O  Lord,  I  am  thy  servant,  the  son  of  thy  handmaid.' 
The  tender  mercies  of  God  toward  me  Mere  manifest  in 
the  first  moment  of  my  life,  I  was  dedicated  to  him  in 
my  infancy." 

When  but  four  years  old,  his  mother  had  already 
stored  his  memory  Avith  many  valuable  pieces,  chapters 
and  portions  of  Scripture,  catechisms,  hymns  and  poems. 
''  My  mother  observed  my  early  progress  with  peculiar 
pleasure,  and  intended  from  the  first  to  bring  me  up 
with  a  view  to  the  ministry." 

When  seven  years  of  age,  he  lost  his  devotedly  })ious 
mother.  His  father  and  step-mother  left  him  to  mingle 
with  careless  and  profane  children,  and  to  become  like 
thorn.  His  subsequent  life  of  prodigality  seemed  to  neu- 
tralize and  contradicL  the  virtue  of  a  Cln'istian  mother's 
prayers,  yet  nevertheless,  the  Lord  does  hear  his — 
" chosen  when  they  cry,  " 

and,  as  we  see  in  Xewton's  case,  though  divine  grace  did — 

" awhile  forbear, 

He'll  help  them  from  above. " 

Though  this  faithful  mother  was  dead  and  in  the 
grave,  her  prayers  and  influence  followed  him  in  all  his 


Newton  continued.  311 


wanderings,  as  he  says:  "thoucrh,  in  process  of  time,  I 
sinned  away  all  the  advantages  of  these  early  impressions, 
yet  they  were  for  a  great  while  a  restraint  upon  me;  they 
returned  again,  and  it  was  very  long  before  I  could 
wholly  shake  them  oif;  and  when  the  Lord  at  length 
opened  niy  eyes,  I  found  a  great  benefit  from  the  recol- 
lection of  them.  Further,  my  dear  mother,  besides  the 
pains  she  took  with  me,  often  commended  me  with  many 
prayers  and  tears  to  God.  I  have  no  doubt  but  I  reap 
the  fruits  of  these  prayers  to  this  hour. "  How  exten- 
sive and  enduring  the  answer  to  those  supplications  of  a 
mother's  heart.  Her  son  became  not  only  a  minister 
eminent  in  usefulness,  and  a  writer  of  hymns,  whose  in- 
fluence reaches  as  far  as  the  English  language  extends, 
but  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  others  who  have  carried 
the  light  of  gospel  truth  among  the  millions  enveloped 
in  the  darkness  of  heathenism. 

Newton  was  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  Claudius 
Buchanan,  who  afterwards  went  as  a  missionary  to  the 
East  Indies.  There  he  wrote  a  book,  "The  Star  in  the 
East,"  which  was  the  first  thing  that  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  Adoniram  Judson  as  a  missionary  to  the  East  In- 
dies, where  he  afterwards  poured  a  flood  of  light  on  Bur- 
mah  and  its  surroundino-  millions. 

o 

Thomas  Scott,  the  renowned  commentator,  was  also 
among  Newton's  trophies.  In  his  autobiography,  Scott 
honestly  admits  that  he  was  unconverted  when  he  re- 
ceived ordination,  totally  ignorant  of  the  gospel  and  its 
saving  power,  till  he  was  led  to  the  truth  by  My.  New'ton. 

Newton  also,  in  connection  with  Doddridge,  was  in- 
strumental in  the  spiritual  change  of  Wilberforce,  for 
whose  conversion  he  is  said  to  have  prayed  fourteen 
years.  Wilberforce  laid  his  princely  fortune  at  the  feet 
of  Jesus,  and  also  effected  by  his  eloquence,  after  years 
of  unceasing  efforts,  the  abolition  of  the  African  Slave 


C 


312  Newton  continued. 


Trade.  He  also  wrote  the  useful  book  entitled,  '*A 
Practical  View  of  Christianity, "  that  has  already  passed 
through  some  fifty  editions. 

This  book  was  the  means  of  tlie  conversion  of  Leigh 
Richmond,  tire  author  of  the  *'  Dairyman's  daughter, " 
whose  eminently  successful  life  and  writings  have  resulted 
in  the  conversion  of  thousands. 

Thus  we  see  what  a  vast  train  of  blessed  results  have 
followed  the  early  training  of  John  Newton,  and  how 
rich  the  eternal  reward  must  be  to  such  a  faithful  mother. 

'^  SIMILAR  case  of  a  mother's  prayers  for  a  way- 
*^  ward  son   is  given  by  Rev.  J.  T.  Benedict. 

A  mother  with  several  children,  being  left  a  wid- 
ow, felt  the  heavy  responsibility  of  her  position. 

She  would  arise  at  midnight,  and,  in  the  chamber 
where  they  were  sleeping,  would  kneel  and  pray  for  them 
with  wrestling  importunity. 

Her  eldest  son,  becoming  restive  of  religious  restraints, 
forsook  his  home,  and  went  to  sea  as  a  sailor. 

During  several  years'  absence,  he  became  profligate,  but 
at  length  was  induced  to  re-visit  the  place  of  his  nativity. 
His  mother  had  died  in  the  meantime  and  his  relatives 
scattered.  Not  knowing  where  else  to  go  to  make  in- 
quiries concerning  his  departed  mother,  he  went  to  the 
prayer-meeting  she  had  been  afcustomed  to  attend. 

Before  the  service  was  over,  the  echo  of  his  dead  moth- 
er's prayers  so  overcame  him,  that  he  exclaimed  aloud, 
"' 3Iy  mothers  prayers  haunt  me  like  a  ghost. " 

After  writhing  for  some  weeks  under  the  keenest  con- 
viction of  sin  he  became  truly  penitent,  and  soon  united 
with  the  church. 

"  It  shan't  be  said  that  praying  breath 
Was  ever  spent  in  vain. " 


Monica  Watching  Augustine's  Departure. 


Ilonica.  •  315 

The  Mother  of  Augustine. 

fEWTON'S  history,  and  the  far-reaching  influence  of 
his  mother's  prayers  and  tears,  bear  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Augustine  and  his  prayerful  moth- 
er, Monica.  Augustine  was  born  at  Tagasta,  Africa,  in 
the  year  354.  In  early  life  he  evinced  genius  and  great 
aptitude  for  learning.  This  induced  his  pious  parents  to 
send  him  away  to  the  best  schools. 

Surrounded  with  the  allurements  of  vice,  he  was  led 
astray,  until  he  became  infamous  in  iniquity.  But  amid 
all  his  wanderings,  his  mother's  importunate  prayers 
surrounded  him.  Ou  liis  departure  from  home,  she  would 
stand  on^the  sea-shore,  and  send  after  him  her  warmest 
supplications,  and,  with  tearful  anxiety,  watch  the  vessel 
as  it  would  glide  out  of  sight  in  the  distant  horizon. 

Monica's  tears  left  an  impi-ess  upon  the  pages  of  church 
history,  that  the  lapse  of  fifteen  centuries  has  not  yet 
erased.  In  his  "Confessions,"  Augustine  tells  how  the 
new  song  of  praise  escaped  his  lips  after  his  feet  were 
taken  from  the  pit.  "How,"  says  he,  "did  I  weep, 
through  Thy  hymns  and  canticles,  touched  to  the  quick 
by  the  voice  of  Thy  sweet  attuned  church  !  The  voices 
sank  into  mine  ears,  and  the  truth  distilled  into  mine 
heart,  whence  the  affections  of  m^^  devotions  overflowed ; 
tears  ran  down  and  happy  was  I  therein." 

During  a  season  of  danger  and  persecution,  when 
Christians  fled  to  the  church  for  shelter,  he  says:  "The 
devout  people  kept  watch  in  the  church,  ready  to  die 
with  their  bishop.  Thy  servant.  There  my  mother.  Thy 
handmaid,  bearing  a  chief  part  in  those  anxieties  and 
watchings,  lived  for  prayer Then  it  was  insti- 
tuted, that,  after  the  manner  of  the  Eastern  churches, 
hymns  and  psalms  should  be  sung,  lest  the  people  should 
wax  faint  throuo;h  the  tediousness  of  sorrow." 
1                                ^ 

C  '^1 


316  Newton's  hymn. 


"How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds." 


fEWTON  wished,  one  day,  to  sound  out,  with  special 
emphasis,  the  precious  name  to  which  his  hymn  refers. 
When  he  had  passed  his  fourscore  years,  he  could 
not  desist  from  preacliing.  As  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
he  could  see  to  read  his  manuscript,  he  took  a  servant 
with  him  in  the  pulpit,  who  stood  behind  him,  and  with 
a  wooden  pointer  would  trace  out  the  lines. 

One  day,  Newton  came  to  the  w-ords  in  his  sermon, 
"Jesus  Christ  is  precious,"  and  wishing  to  emphasize 
them,  he  repeated,  ^^  Jesus  Christ  is  precious''  His  ser- 
vant, thinking  he  was  getting  confused,  whispered,  "Go 
on,  go  on,  you  said  that  before;"  when  Newton, *looking 
around,  replied,  "John,  I  said  that  twice,  and  I  am  going 
to  say  it  again,"  when  with  redoubled  force  he  sounded 
out  the  words  atrain,  "Jesus  Christ  is  precious." 


fHE  Rev.  M.  L.  Iloflge,  D.  D.,  an  eminently  devoted 
minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  near  Petersburg, 
Va.,  when  bidding  adieu  to   the  scenes  of  earth,  re- 
quested his  friends  to  sing.     As  they  commenced  with 
the  words, 

"How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 
In  a  believer's  ear  !  " 

he  could  not  remain  silent.  As  he  joined  wdth  a  trem- 
bling voice,  he  seemed  to  summon  all  his  departing 
strength,  when  they  came  to  the  words: — 

"  AVeak  is  the  effort  of  my  heart, 
And  cold  m_y  warmest  thought; 
But  when  1  see  thee  as  thou  art, 
I'll  praise  thee  as  I  ought." 

His  countenance  lit  up  with  unspeakable  joy,  as  with 
much  unction  and  emotion,  he  sang  the  last  lines: — 
"  And  ma_y  the  music  of  thy  name 
Refresh  my  soul  in  death.' 


1 


B/ 


Newton's  hymn  illustrated.  311 


"  What  a  friend  we  have  above. " 


^S  illustrative  of  this  line  in  the  well  known  hymn 
^e^  of  Newton,  commencing, — 

"  One  there  is  above  all  others. 

Well  deserves  the  name  of  Friend,  " 

we  give  the  following  touching  account  of  "  Little  Pe- 
ter,"  who  realized  that  "every  good  gift  and  every 
perfect  gift  is  from  abovej  and  conieth  from  the  Fath- 
er of  lights. "  He  was  a  poor  orphan  boy  who  sang  so 
sweetly  as  he  went  begging  his  bread  from  door  to  door 
that  he  was  seldom  turned  away  empty-handed. 

When  his  father  was  on  his  death  bed,  he  said  to  his 
son, "  My  dear  Peter,  you  will  now  be  left  alone,  and 
many  troubles  you  will  have  in  the  world.  But  always 
remember,  that  all  comes  from  above ;  then  you  will 
find  it  easy  to  bear  every  thing  with  patience. " 

Ever  after  when  alms  were  given  him,  he  would 
acknowledge  the  gift  by  saying,  ^'  It  comes  from  above." 
AVhen  his  knock  at  the  door  brought  the  response, 
"  AVho's  there,  "  he  would  often  sing : — 

"  Alms  to  little  Peter  give; 
Without  shoes  or  hat  I  go 
To  my  home  beyond   the  sky  ; 
I  have  nothing  here  below." 

"Once,  as  he  was  passing  through  the  town,  a  sudden 
Avind  blew  off  a  roof-tile,  which  fell  on  his  shoulder,  and 
struck  him  to  the  ground.  His  first  words  were,  *  It 
comes  from  above. ' 

"The  bystanders  laughed,  and  thought  he  must  be 
out  of  his  wits,  for  of  course  the  tile  could  not  come  from 
below ;  but  they  did  not  understand  him.  A  moment 
after,  the  wind  tore  oif  an  entire  roof  in  the  same  street, 
which  crushed  three  men  to  death.  Had  little  Peter 
gone  on,   he  would  probably  have  been   at   that  mo- 


318 


Newton\  hymn  illustrated. 


ment,  just  where  the  roof  fell.  Thus  the  tile  did 
*  come  from  above. ' 

"At  another  time  a  distinguished  gentleman  employ- 
ed him  to  carry  a  letter  to  a  neighboring  town,  bidding 
him  to  make  all  haste.  On  the  way  he  tried  to  spring 
over  a  ditch,  but  it  was  so  wide  that  he  fell  in,  and  was 
neaily  drowned.  The  letter  was  lost  in  the  mud,  and 
could  not  be  recovered.  When  Peter  got  out  again,  he 
exclaimed,  '  It  comes  from  abdve.'  The  gentleman  was 
angry  when  Peter  told  him  of  his  mishap,  and  drove 
him  out  of  doors  with  a  whip.  '  It  comes  from  above,  ^ 
said  Peter,  as  he  stood  on  the  steps.  The  next  day  the 
gentleman  sent  for  him.  'See  here,'  said  he,  'there  are 
two  ducats  for  you,  for  tumbling  into  the  ditch.  Cir- 
cumstances have  so  changed  on  a  sudden,  that  it  would 
have  been  a  misfortune  to  me  had  the  letter  gone  safely. ' 

"A  rich  Englishman  who  came  into  the  town,  hav- 
ing heard  his  story,  sent  for  him  in  order  to  bestow  on 
him  some  charity.  When  'Little  Peter'  entered  the 
room  the  Englishman  said,  'What  think  you,  Peter; 
why  have  I  sent  for  you?'  ^It  comes  from  above,'  re- 
plied Peter.  This  answer  greatly  pleased  the  English- 
man. After  musing  a  while,  he  said,  'You  are  right; 
I  will  take  you  into  my  service  and  provide  Avell  for 
you.  Will  you  agree  to  that?'  '  It  comes  from  above/ 
answered  Peter;  why  should  I  not?' 

"So  the  rich  Englishman  took  him  away.  We  were 
all  sorry  that  he  came  no  more  to  sing  his  pretty  verse 
under  our  windows.  But  he  had  become  weary  of  beg- 
ging, and  as  he  had  learned  no  trade  we  were  glad  that 
he  was  at  length  provided  for.  Long  afterwards  we 
learned  that  when  the  rich  man  died  he  bequeathed  a 
large  sum  of  money  to  'Little  Peter,'  who  was  now  a 
wealthy  man  in  Birmingham.  But  he  still  said  of  every 
occurrence,   'It  comes  from  above."' 


r 


M 


A  hymn  from  "above." 


319 


r 


'Angel  Sent"  Stanzas. 

Y  the  manna  which  dropped 
from  heaven,  God's  Israel 
was  fed.  Bread  of  life  still 
drops  from  above,  as  seen  in 
the  following  sketch  : — 

"An  elderly  gentleman 
came  into  our  store  one  day, 
and  asked  for  a  book  enti- 
tled 'The  Changed  Cross.' 
He  said  it  contained  a  hymn 
which    led   him  to   the   Sa- 
viour. 
"  Upon  a  little  inquiry,  he  gave  the  following  account  :- 
" '  Twelve  years  ago,   I  was  in  a  very  agitated  state 
of  mind  about  my  soul's  welfare.     I  was   working  in  a 
store  on  Federal  Street  one  day,   when  I  felt  unusually 
distressed.     I  went  up  into  the  third   story.     The  win- 
dow  was   slightly   lowered,  —  about    a   pane's    length. 
While  there,  and  in  this  state  of  mind,   there  came  sud- 
denly a  little  slip  of  paper  floating   in  at  the  window. 
I  picked  it  up,  and  found  thereon  these  stanzas'  ( draw- 
ing a  worn  slip  from  his  pocket ) : — 

" '  In  meek  obedience  to  the  heavenly  Teacher, 
Thy  weary  soul  can  find  its  only  peace  ; 
Seeking  no  aid  from  any  human  creature, 
Looking  to  God  alone   for  his  release. 

"  '  And  he  will  come  in  his  own  time  and  power 
To  set  his  earnest-hearted   children  free  : 
Watch  only  through  this  dark  and  painful  hour, 
And  the  bright  morning  yet  -will  break  for  thee. ' 

"'I  cried,  'God  be  praised!  '  and  I  have  been  prais- 
ing God  ever  since. '  On  being  asked  how  that  piece 
of  paper  came  there,  and  why,  he  said,  'An  angel  sent  it. '  " 


320  Newton's  hymn  illustrated. 


We,  alas  !  forget  too  often 
What  a  friend  we  have  above. 


^t  LADY  who  had  the  charge  of  young  persons  not 
<^  of  kindred  blood,  became,  on  one  occasion,  perplex- 
ed with  regard  to  her  duty.  She  retired  to  lier  own 
room  to  meditate,  and  being  grieved  in  spirit,  laid  down 
her  head  upon  a  table,  and  wept  bitterly.  She  scarcely 
j)erceived  her  little  daughter,  seated  quietly  in  the  cor- 
ner. Unable  longer  to  bear  sight  of  her  mother's  dis- 
tress, she  stole  softly  to  her  side,  and  taking  her  hand 
in  both  of  her  own,  said,  "  Mamma  once  you  taught 
me  a  pretty  hymn: — 

'  If  e'er  j'ou  meet  with  trials, 
Or  troubles  on  the  way, 
Then  cast  your  care  on  Jesus, 
And  don't  forget  to  pray.'  " 

Mother  did  not  "forget  to  pray"  after  that;  but 
leaving  her  burden  with  Jesus,  she  went  on  her  way 
rejoicing. 


fSOjNIEWHAT  similar  circumstance  was  reported 
to  me  by  a  pastor  in  Pennsylvania.     Said  he: — 
"Being  under  a  cloud  of  difficulty,  I  sat  in  sad- 
ness in  my  study  one  Saturday  night  not  knowing  what 
to  do. 

"My  little  son  seeing  my  tearful  eyes,  leaped  up  in 
my  lap,  and  tried  to  Avipe  away  my  tears  on  this  wise: — 
After  inquiring  the  cause,  he  said,  'Papa,  nevermind; 
don't  weep.  When  the  birds  sing  early  in  the  morning, 
ril  get  out  of  bed  and  tell  Jesus  all  about  it.'" 

And  so  he  did,  in  his  childlike  way,  while  the  father 
listened  with  deep  emotion. 

That  very  day,  help  came,  and  for  many  years  since 
he  has  enjoyed  the  fruit  of  that  answered  prayer. 


w 


Words  of  cheer  from  children's  song.         321 


Singing  the  Tears  Away. 

HEN  words  are  fitly  sung,  they 
prove  to  be  "  apples  of  gold, " 
ari  well  as  when  fitly  spoken. 

A  hymn  I  had  often  used 
while  preaching  to  the  young, 
sweetly  reechoed  as  a  "  word  in 
season,"  during  the  winter  of 
"hard  times"  in  1857—58. 

One  morning  I  had  occasion 
to  be  in  a  Christian  family  liv- 
ing at  Norristown,  Pa.,  who 
had  keenly  felt  the  pressure  of 
the  panic.  They  had  gotten  down  to  the  scrapings  of  the 
empty  barrel.  They  had  nothing  left  for  breakfast  but 
the  crumbs  of  other  days.  These  were  all  gathered  on 
one  plate    and  place  in  the  centre  of  the  table. 

All  the  family  gathered  around  the  scanty  meal  except 
two  little  boys,  who  were  absorbed  with  their  playthings 
in  one  corner  of  the  room. 

After  the  father  had  given  thanks,  tears  rolled  down 
the  cheeks,  as  their  eyes  gazed  upon  the  empty  plates. 

During  the  sad  silence  which  followed,  the  two  boys 
dropped  their  toys,  arose  to  their  feet,  and,  as  if  led  by 
angel  hands,  marched  forward  to  the  table,  and  sang; 

"  0  do  not  be  discouraged, 
For  Jesus  is  your  friend; 
He  will  give  you  grace  to  conquer, 
And  keep  j'ou  to  the  end." 

Tears  fled  as  dew-drops  before  the  rising  sun. 

An  unexpected  Providence  brought  relief,  And  never 
since  have  tear  drops  fallen  on  empty  dishes,  as  they  joy- 
fully continue  to  sing  of  Jesus  as  their  "friend.  " 


C 


w 


322  Valpy^s  hymn. 


*'  Two  Officers  Led  to  Christ  by  a  Verse. " 

fHE  great  scholar,  Dr.  Valpy,  who  published  an  edi- 
tion of  Homer,   and  other  learned  works,   became  a 
Christian   late  in  life,  and  shortly  before  he  died, 
he  wrote  this  beautiful  hymn-prayer  : — 

"  In  peace  let  me  resign  my  breath, . 
And  thy  salvation  see; 
My  sins  deserve  eternal  death, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me.  " 

The  verses  fell  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  March,  who  read 
them  aloud  once  at  a  religious  service  in  the  family  of 
Lord  Roden.  The  nobleman  was  so  much  pleased  with 
them  that  he  had  them  nicely  written  out  and  framed, 
and  hung  over  the  mantle-piece  in  his  study. 

Gen.  Taylor,  a  Waterloo  veteran,  while  on  a  visit  to 
Lord  Roden  some  time  afterwards,  read  the  lines  and 
was  much  impressed  by  them.  He  was  a  man  who  had 
thought  little  about  religion,  and  never  liked  to  talk 
about  it.  But  now  every  time  he  came  into  the  study, 
his  eyes  Avould  rest  upon  that  motto  over  the  mantle- 
piece.     At  last,  one  day  Lord  Roden  exclaimed : — 

"General,  you'll  soon  get  that  stanza  by  heart.  " 

"I  know  it  by  heart  now,"  said  the  general,  with  feel- 
ing. Gen.  Taylor  was  a  changed  man  ever  after.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  he  died,  and  his  last  words  were : — 

"  In  peace  let  me  resign  my  breath, 
^nd  thy  salvation  see  ; 
My  sins  deserve  eternal  death, 
Bn.t  Jesus  died  for  me.  " 

A  good  while  after  this  Lord  Roden  told  the  above 
story  in  the  hearing  of  a  young  officer  lately  returned 
from  the  Crimean  War,  and  repeated  the  lines  at  the  close. 
Apparently  they  made  no  impression  upon  the  young 
man  at  the  time,  but  a  few   months  proved  that  he  had 


G 


Newton  s  hymn.  323 


thera  "  by  lieart, "  too.  Stricken  down  with  a  quick 
decline,  and  sensible  that  he  was  near  his  end,  he  sent 
for  Lord  Roden,  saying  that  he.  wished  to  see  him  with- 
out delay.  The  nobleman  hastened  to  the  sick-room, 
and  as  soon  as  he  entered,  the  dying  man  welcomed  him 
with  a  smiling  face.  "I  wanted  to  tell  you  what  a 
blessing  those  lines  have  been  to  me,"  he  said.  ''They 
have  been  God's  message  of  comfort,  brought  to  my 
memory  after  days  of  darkness  here, — 

"In  peace  let  me  resign  my  breath, 
And  thy  salvation  see  ; 
My  sins  deserve  eternal  death, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me.  " 

And  thus  the  sweet  words  of  faith  uttered  in  the  sim- 
ple rhyme  of  a  dying  scholar  became  the  last  consolation 
of  two  dying  soldiers. 

This  interesting  narrative  is  taken  from  The  Youth's 
Companion. 


"  Stop,  poor  sinner,  stop  and  think.  " 

f  YOUNG  man  met  a  gentleman  who  placed  in  his 
hand  a  slip  of  paper,  on  which  was  printed  this  hymn 
of  John  NcNvton  : — 

"Stop,  poor  sinner,   stop  and  think.  " 

He  was  so  much  affected  by  it  that  he  committed  it 
to  memory.  Years  afterward  when  a  student  at  Brown 
University,  during  a  season  of  revival,  he  entered  a 
place  where  religious  service  was  being  held,  just  as  the 
hymn  was  being  commenced  : — 

"  Stop,  poor  sinner,   stop  and  think.  " 

His  former  impressions  were  at  once  revived.  He  did 
"stop  and  think,"  became  an  earnest  Christian,  and  af- 
ter^yards  in  the  medical  profession,  a  zealous  Morker 
in  the  vinevard  of  Christ. 


C 


32-4  Samson  Occom. 


A  Popular  Hymn  Written  by  an  Indian. 

tAMSON  Occom^  an  Indian  preacher,  wrote  a  hymn 
in  1760,  which,  though  over  a  hundred  years  old, 
is  still   frequently  sung.     It  originally  contained  seven 
verses.     The  first  line  of  the  first  verse  reads  thus: — 
"Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound." 
He  is  also  accredited  with  the  hymn : — 

"  0  turn  ye,  0  turn  ye,  for  why  will  ye  die. " 

He  was  born  at  Mohegan,  near  Norwich,  Connecti- 
cut, about  the  year  1723.  During  a  revival  of  1740, 
under  Whitfield,  Tennent,  and  their  co-laborers,  several 
ministers  visited  the  Indians.  And  among  the  num- 
ber who  professed  conversion  was  Occom,  then  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  In  a  year  or  two  after  this,  he  learn- 
ed to  read,  and  went  to  the  Indian  school  of  Mr. 
Wheelock  of  Lebanon,  where  he  remained  four  years. 

He  then  taught  a  school,  and  preached  among  the 
Indians  at  Montauk,  Long  Island,  and  other  places  for 
some  twenty  years.  His  labors  were  blessed  in  a  gra- 
cious revival  among  the  Montauks. 

In  1759,  he  was  ordained  by  the  Suffolk  Presbytery. 

In  1766,  he  was  sent  to  England  to  advocate  the 
cause  of  an  Indian  Charity  School. 

As  he  was  the  first  Indian  preacher  who  had  visited 
England,  he  drew  out  immense  audiences.  In  a  little 
over  a  year,  he  preached  four  hundred  sermons.  Dur- 
ing that  time,  he  collected  over  forty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars for  his  school,  which,  at  length,  was  merged  into 
Dartmouth  College. 
His  hymns  have  been  much  used  in  England  and  Wales. 

After  his  return  to  this  country,  he  was  employed  in 
general  missionary  labors  among  the  Indians  until  in 
July,  1792,  he  died,  aged  sixty-nine  years. 


r 


•<'':r^gg%'5'^^' 


SAMSON  OCCOM. 


Occom  continued. 


327 


Occom's  Hymn. 

"  Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound, 
My  soul  in  bonds  of  guilt  I  found, 

And  knew  not  where  to  go  ; 
Eternal  truth  did  loud  proclaim, 
'  The  sinner  must  be  born  again," 

Or  sink  to  eudless  woe. 

"When  to  the  law  I  trembling  fled. 
It  poured  its  curses  on  my  head, 

I  no  relief  could  find  ; 
This  fearful  truth  increased  my  pain, 
'  The  sinner  must  be  born  again, ' 

And  whelmed  my  tortured  mind. 

"Again  did  Sinai's  thunders  roll. 
And  guilt  lay  heavy  on  my  soul, 

A  vast  oppressive  load; 
Alas  1  I  read  and  saw  it  plain, 
'  The  sinner  must  be  born  again, ' 

Or  drink  the  wrath  of  God. 

"  The  saints  I  heard  with  rapture  tell 
How  Jesus  conquered  death  and  hell, 

And  broke  the  fowler's  snare  ; 
Yet  when  I  found  this  truth  remain, 
'  The  sinner  must  be  born  again, ' 
I  sunk  in  deep  despair. 

"But  while  I  thus  in  anguish  lay, 
The  gracious  Saviour  passed  this  way, 

And  felt  his  pity  move  ; 
The  sinner,  by  his  justice  slain, 
Now  by  his  grace  is  born  again. 
And  sings  redeeming  love.  " 


r 


fR.  THORPE,  with  a  group  of  scoffers  tried  to  mimic 
Whitefield.  One  and  another  stood  on  a  table  to 
try  their  skill.  Thorpe  opened  the  Bible  and  read, 
"Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish.  It  was 
"Sinai's  awful  sound."  He  trembled,  wept,  ran  from  the 
room,  was  converted  and  became  a  useful  preacher. 


r " 


328  %Oeconi'fi  hymn  illustrated. 

"  Oh,  turn  ye,  oh,  turn  ye,  for  why  will  ye  die ! 

fISTER  Mary  requested  me  to  write  and  tell  you 
that  she  had  gone  to  heave'n."  Thus  wrote  a 
brother  from  Elimsport,  Pa. 

At  the  close  of  a  protracted  meeting  service  on  a  snowy 
winter  night,  invitation  was  given  for  any  that  were  anx- 
ious to  attend  a  meeting  for  the  special  benefit  of  such, 
in  an  adjoining  house.  To  induce  decision  for  Christ, 
we  remarked  that  all  should  act  as  they  would  wish 
they  had  acted  when  they  thought  of  that  night  at  the 
judgment  day.  The  pastor  and  myself  waited  a  long 
while  at  the  appointed  place  for  prayer,  but  it  seemed 
in  vain.  At  length  the  door  slowly  opened,  and  this 
weejjing  Mary  entered.  As  she  took  her  seat,  said 
she,  "Mr.  Long,  I  went  home;  I  could  not  summon 
courage  to  tear  loose  from  my  gay  and  giddy  companions. 
But  as  I  was  about  entering  the  gate,  I  thought  of  your 
remark  about  the  judgment  day.  I  at  once  turned  around, 
and  have  walked  back  a  mile  through  the  snow  to  ask 
you  to  pray  for  me." 

That  turning  point  at  the  gate  was  the  point  on  which 
hinged  her  eternal  destiny.  She  became  a  devoted  Christ- 
ian, and  was  laid  upon  her  death-bed  the  following  sum- 
mer. 

We  shall  never  forget  the  joy  that  flashed  from  her 
countenance  as  she  pointed  from  that  sick  chamber  to  the 
wicket  gate  in  the  yard,  where  she  took  her  first  step  in 
that  narrow  path  that  was  now  leading  her  to  endless 
glory. 

Before  her  departure  she  sent  me  the  following  lines : 
"  I  do  not  expect  to  arise  from  my  bed  again.  During 
the  last  spell  I  had  I  was  so  weak  that  I  could  neither 
move  hand  nor  foot,  yet  I  could  feel  my  Saviour's  arm 
around  and  underneath  me  to  hold  me  up." 

r  »/ 


Singing  of  "  Come  to  Jesus."  329 


A  Dying  Boy's  Emphasis  to  a  Hymn. 

fN"  a  Saturday  night,  during  a  Sunday  school  teachers' 
meeting,  a  sudden  rap  was  heard  at  the  lecture-room 
door  of"  a  Presbyterian  church  in  St.  Louis. 
The  pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  McCook,  was  sent  for  in 
haste  to  see*  a  little  dying  boy.  He  found  it  was  at  the 
house  of  a  noted  gambler.  This  man  was  on  bended 
knees  beside  his  child.  Said  he:  "Pray  for  him.  Do 
any  thing  you  can."  After  prayer  the  boy's  lips  were 
observed  to  move.  They  found  he  was  trying  to  say, 
''Sing!  singl"     So  Dr.  McCook  sang  the  words: — 

"  Come  to  Jesus,  come  to  Jesns, 
Come  to  Jesus,  just  now, 
Just  now,  come  to  Jesus 
Come  to  Jesus,  just  now. 

"  He  will  save  you,  he  will  save  you, 
He  will  save  you,  Just  now, 
Just  now,  he  will    save   j'ou, 
He  will  save  you,  just  now.  " 

As  the  words,  ''Just  now"  were  being  repeated  the  boy 
would  fix  his  dying  eyes  on  his  father  and  try  to  empha- 
size by  saying  as  loudly  as  he  could,  "  Now,  now,  now/' 
whenever  the  word  occurred  in  the  hymn. 

Next  morning  as  the  father  stood  on  one  side  of  the 
corpse  and  Dr.  McCook  on  the  other,  the  latter  reechoed 
in  the  ears  of  the  father,  that  emphatic  "  Now  "  that  so 
earnestly  escaped  from  the  pale  lips  that  lay  silent 
between  them. 

That  gambler  opened  his  heart  to  the  sound,  became 
a  devoted  Christian,  renounced  his  life  of  sin,  united 
with  Dr.  McCook's  church  and  remained  a  consistent 
member  till  at  length  he  followed  his  little  boy  to  the 
skies. 


OOK) 


Krisna  Pal. 


r 


A  Precious  Hymn  by  a  Converted  Idolater. 


C'(x  {A}  /^J^RISNA  PAL  was  among  the 
cy%^^  m\.j^^/  first  of  the  Hindoos  who  re- 
nounced caste  and  idolatry  for 
Christ's  sake.  He  was  bap- 
tized at  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  in  the  river  Ganges, 
near  the  missionary  residence 
at  Serampore. 

Dr.  Belcher  says  of  him, — 
"  This  man,  then  at  the  prime 
of  life,  being  thirty-five  years 
of  age,  became  an  eminent  Christian,  engaged  in  the 
ministry,  which  he  pursued  for  many  years,  baptized 
many  hundreds  of  converted  idolators,  and  then  died 
triumphant  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  Joyfully  did  he  bear 
witness  that  the  service  of  Christ  'was  the  work  of  love,' 
and  that  in  it  '  he  got  nothing  but  joy  and  comfort.' 
He  wrote  two  or  three  hymns,  one  of  which  continues 
to  be  sung  in  India  in  the  Bengalee  language,  in  which 
it  was  composed;  and  a  part  of  it,  translated  into  Eng- 
lish, is  jmnted  in  most  of  our  books.  "  The  first  verse 
reads  : — 

"  0  thou,  icy  soul,  forget  no  more 

The  friend  who  all  thy  sorrows  bore ; 
Let  every   idol  be  forgot ; 

But,  0  my  soul,  forget  him  not.  " 

The  last  verse  M^as  strikingly  illustrated  in  his  peace- 
ful death. 

"  Ah,  no  !  till  life  itself  depart, 

His  name  shall  cheer  and  warm  my  heart; 
And  lisping  this,  from  earth  I'll  rise. 
And  join  the  chorus  of  the  skies.  " 


M) 


KRISNA  PAL 


Krishna  PaVs  hymn.  333 


Krishna  Pal  was  brought  in  contact  with  the  gospel 
through  a  broken  limb,  which  the  missionary  was 
called  in  to  set.  This  man  of  God,  after  adminis- 
tering surgical  aid,  spake  to  him  of  the  more  awful  dis- 
ease of  sin,  and  of  God's  goodness  in  providing  a  great 
Physician. 

Krishna  was  much  affected  by  the  story  of  the  cross, 
and  soon  after  professed  faith  in  the  crucified.     During 
his  baptism,  Grigg's  hymn  was  sung  in  Bengalee: — 
"Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be, 

A  mortal  man  ashamed  of  thee  ?  " 

He  not  only  built  himself  a  house  for  worship,  but  in 
1804,  was  set  apart  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Dr. 
Gary  described  him  as  "a  steady,  zealous,  well-informed, 
and  I  may  add,  eloquent  minister  of  the  gospel,"  aver- 
aging twelve  to  fourteen  sermons  a  week. 

In  such  self-denying  labors  he  continued  for  twenty 
years  at  the  small  salary  of  six  dollars  a  month. 

We  append  the  other  verses  of  his  hymn,  referred  to 
on  another  page: — 

"Jesus  for  thee  a  body  takes, 

Thy  guilt  assumes,  thy  fetters  breaks, 
Discharging  all  thy  dreadful  debt; — 
And  canst  thou  e'er  such  love  forget? 

"Renounce  thy  works  and  ways  with  grief, 
And  fly  to  this  most  sure  relief; 
Nor  Him  forget  who  left  his  throne, 
And  for  thy  life  gave  up  his  own. 

"Infinite  truth  and  mercy  shine 
In  Him,  and  he  himself  is  thine  ; 
And  canst  thou  then,  witli  sin  beset, 
Such  charms,  sach  matchless  charms  forget? 

"Ah  !  no — when  all  things  else  expire, 
And  perish  in  the  general  fire, 
This  name  all  others  shall  survive, 
And  through  eternity  shall  live. '' 


c 


334  Rciy  Palmer. 

Origin  of  "My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee." 

(J- HIS  universal  favorite  was  written  by  Ray   Palmer, 

Q  D.  D.,  an  eminent  Congregational  minister  of  Albany, 

New  York.*   He  was  born  in  Rliode  Island  in  1808. 

This  hymn  was  written  in  New  York  in  December 
1830,  just  after  he  had  left  Yale  College. 

He  says  it  was  "  written  because  it  was  born  in  his 
heart  and  demanded  expression.  *I  gave  form  to  what 
I  felt  by  writing,  with  little  effort,  the  stanzas.  I  recol- 
lect I  wrote  them  with  very  tender  emotion,  and  ended 
the  last  line  with  tears. ' " 

The  manuscript  was  laid  away  in  his  pocket-book  and 
carried  with  him  for  some  two  years,  until  one  day,  while 
in  Boston,  he  met  on  the  street  Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  who 
told  him  of  a  new  book  he  was  about  to  issue,  and  asked 
him  to  furnish  a  few  hyiTlns  for  it.  Palmer  at  once 
reached  in  his  pocket  and  brought  out  the  lines. 

Soon  after  receiving  the  hymn.  Dr.  Mason  said  to 
young  Palmer:  "  You  may  live  many  years,  and  do  many 
good  things,  but  I  think  you  will  be  best  known  to  pos- 
terity as  the  author  of  this  hymn" — a  prophecy  that  is 
already  fulfilled.  This  hymn  is  now  known,  loved  and 
sung  as  far  as  the  English  language  extends,  and  has 
been  translated  in  many  foreign  tongues. 

One  day  during  the  insurrection  in  Syria,  the  students 
in  a  Protestant  seminary  were  having  their  morning  wor- 
ship.    When  singing  the  third  verse  of  this  hymn, — 

"  While  life's  dark  maze  I  tread, 
And  griefs  around  me  spread. '' 

they  were  being  surrounded  by  the  savage  Druzes,  who 
wei-e  firing  in  the  streets  and  were  ready  to  enter  the 
chapel. 

As  a  little  one  was  being  put  to  bed  she  told  her 
mother  how  bad  she  had   felt  during  the  dav  because  of 


»  Wow  of  Newark,  N.  J. 


Palmer  s  hymn.  335 


her  sins,  and  how  she  had  gone  to   "  Frankie's  room  and 
prayed  all  by  myself. "     Said  she : 

"  I  asked  Jesus,  and  he  helped  me  right  away.  Now, 
mamma,  please  sing, — 

"  '  Take  all  my  sins  away. '  " 

"  I  have  heard  you  sing  it  a  good  deal  to-day,  Lily. " 
"Oh,  yes;  but  I  don'  know  the  whole,  and  I  want  you 
to  sing  it  over  and  over  until  I  go  to  sleep." 

"  JTy  faith  looks  up  to  Thee, 
Thou  Lamb  of  Calvary, 

Saviour  divine  ! 
Now  hear  me  while  I  pray, 
Take  all  my  sins  away  ; 
Oh  may  I  from  this  day 

Be  wholly  thine  I  " 

Gladly  the  mother  responded  to  this  touching  request, 
and  sang  these  words   "  over  and  over, "   until   the  little 
one  sank  asleep  on  the  bosom  of  Him,  who  can — 
"  Take  all  my  sins  away.  " 

While  we  were  penning  these  lines  it  was  our  privilege 
to  have  an  interview  with  Dr.  Palmer,  at  his  residence 
in  Newark,  N.  J.,  at  which  he  saijl  that  he  had  received, 
he  supposed,  a  hundred  testimonies  in  the  form  of  letters, 
and  others  relating  to  the  happy  effect  produced  by  this 
hymn.  Of  those  that  came  under  his  own  observation 
he  related  the  following:  While  preaching  at  Albany,  a 
young  man,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  attend  upon 
his  ministry,  came  one  Sunday  morning  to  his  church, 
some  time  before  the  hour  of  service;  to  pass  away  the 
time  he  opened  a  hymn-book  that  lay  in  the  pew.  His 
eyes  lit  at  once  upon  the  words : — 

"  My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee, 
Thou  Lamb  of  Calvary, 
Saviour  divine !  " 

It  was  just  the  language   suited  to  his  sin-burdened 


C 


336  Palmer's  hymn. 


heart.  While  reading  the  hymn  the  Spirit  applied  the 
truth  with  divine  power,  so  that  he  looked  at  once  to 
Jesus  and  lived. 

Calling  afterwards  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  Palmer,  to 
tell  how  he  had  found  the  Saviour,  he  learned  to  his 
great  joy,  for  the  firs*  time,  that  the  one  to  whom  he  was 
telling  the  story  of  his  conversion  had  written  the  hymn. 
At  another  time,  a  lady  in  the  choir,  who  sometimes 
sang  a  solo  at  the  close  of  service,  chose  this  hymn  as  her 
anthem.  To  such  an  unusual  degree  did  she  throw  her 
soul  into  it,  and  bring  out  each  word  with  emphasis  and 
power,  that  the  audience  seemed  to  listen  with  breathless 
silence.  It  was  her  last  solo  on  earth.  Next  morning 
she  was  found  dead  in  bed. 

How  appropriate,  therefore,  the  last  verse  with  which 
she  ended  her  song: 

"  When  ends  life's  transient  dream, 
When  death's  cold   sullen  stream, 

Shall  o'er  me  roll, 
Blest  Saviour  then  in  love, 
Fear  and  dis'rust  remove  ; 
0   bear  me  safe  above, 
A  ransomed  soul !  " 


fAMUEL  POTTER  of  Calmstock,  England,  on  the 
last  Sabbath  he  spent  on  earth  sang  with  his  family 
at  the  evening  worship: — 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,  "  etc. 

Afterwards  he  sang  this  verse  as  a  solo : — 

"  Oft  as  I  lay  me  down  to  rest, 

0  may  the  reconciling  word. 
Sweetly  compose  my  weary  breast. 
While  on  tlie  bosom  of  my  Lord, 

1  sink  in  blissful  dreams  away. 
And  visions  of  eternal  day.  " 

Rising  from  his  bed  in  the   morning  he  said  :  "  Welb 
my  work  is  almost  done, "  and  then  sank  down  a  corpse. 


Palmer^s  hymn.  337 


"Who  is  like  Jesus." 

tX  nearly  every  revival  there  are  certain  hymns  that 
become  identilied   with   it,  and  that  seem  _  especially 

adapted  to  give  expression  to  existing  feelings.  We 
have  found  none  better  to  put  in  the  lips  of  the  anxious 
than  Palmer's 

"  My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee.  " 
At  a  meeting  in  Drums,  Pa.,  where  over  two  hundred 
became  subjects  of  Divine  grace,  it  became,   night  after 
nio-ht  for  nearly  three  months,  the  spontaneous  utterance 
of1:he  many  who  crowded  around  the  gate  of  mercy. 

During  an  extensive  awakening  in  Shippensburg,  Pa., 
in  1869,  as  one  and  another  found  Him  who  is  the  "fair- 
est among  ten  thousand  and  the  one  altogether  lovely," 
the  natural  and  continued  outburst  of  praise,  seemed  to  be 
the  chorus  words,  "O,  who  is  like  Jesus." 

The  multitude  that  crowded  the  streets  on  the  way  to 
church  seemed  to  be,  in  number,  like  those  who  "  fly  as 
a  cloud  and  as  the  doves  to  their  windows." 

The  interest  awakened  by  tlie  first  week's  course  of 
"Illustrated  Sermons"  spread  so  extensively,  that  the 
young  men  drew  up  a  petition  to  their  employers  to  close 
the  stores  at  seven  o'clock,  that  they  might  attend  church, 
and  the  simultaneous  closing  of  store  shutters  reverber- 
ating through  the  streets  became  our  church  belh 

Such  crowds  attended  that  they  filled  the  seats  and 
aisles,  sat  on  each  other's  laps,  and  crowded  the  pulpit- 
steps  and  floors,  that  one  church  sank  six  inches  in  the 
centre  tln-ough  the  weight  of  those  packed  within. 

By  my  side  is  a  little  book  filled  with  the  autograph 
signatures  of  the  many,  who,  having  found  a  Saviour,  so 
frequently  and  so  heartily  loved  to  sing: — 
"  Who  is  like  Jesus.  " 

r- ^S)i 


338  Edward  Perronet. 


Author  of  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name." 

fHIS  widely  known  hymn  first  appeared  in  1780  in 
The  Gospel  Magazine.  It  was  written  by  Rev. 
Edward  Perronet,  a  son  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman, 
who  preached  fifty  years  at  Shoreham,  England.  Charles 
Wesley  refers  familiarly  to  him  in  his  diary  as  "  Ned, " 
and  as  a  companion  and  co-laborer.  He  had  a  brother 
Charles,  who  also  entered  the  ministry,  both  of  -whom 
labored  with  Wesley  for  some  time.  Charles  "  desisted 
for  want  of  health,"  and  Edward  "from  some  change  in 
his  opinions.  Charles  Perronet  died  at  Canterbury  in 
1776,  but  his  brother  survived  him  many  years,  and 
possessed  equal  powers  Avitli  him,  to  which  was  super- 
added a  large  fund  of  wit.  " 

He  labored  in  the  employ  of  Lady  Huntingdon!,  and 
preached  with  marked  success  at  Canterbuiy,  Norwich, 
and  other  parts  of  England. 

In  his  last  years  he  had  charge  of  a  congregation  of 
dissenters  at  Canterbury,  where  he  died,  January,  1792. 
Plis  dying  words  were :  "Glory  to  God  in  the  height  of 
His  divinity;  glory  to  God  in  the  depth  of  His  human- 
ity; glory  to  God  in  His  all-sufficiency,  and  into  His 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit."  Thus  with  his  dying 
breath  he  tried  to 

" crown  him  Lord  of  all.  'I 

This  hymn  liad  originally  eight  verses,  and  was  en- 
titled, "On  the  Resurrection." 

Shrubsole,  an  organist  at  Spafield's  Chajiel,  London, 
composed  a  tune  called  "Miles'  Lane."  This  was  gen- 
erally sung  to  it,  until  it  became  wedded  to  "  Coronation," 
In  1785  his  poems  and  hymn.s  were  collected  in  a  vol- 
ume entitled,  "Occasional  Verses,  Moral  and  Sacred, 
published  for  the  Instruction  and  Amusement  of  the 
I      Serious  and  Religious. " 

r-  S)J 


Perronet^s  hymn. 


339 


-0 


The  Original  of  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name. " 


"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  ! 
Let  angels  prostrate  fall ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
To  crown  him  Lord  of  all ! 

"  Let  high-born  seraphs  tune  the  lyre, 
And,  as  they  tune  it.  fall 
Before  his  face  who  tunes  their  choir, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all ! 

'•  Crown  him,  ye  morning  stars  of  light, 
Who  fixed  this  floating  ball ; 
Now  hail  the  Strength  of  Israel's  might, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all ! 

"Crown, him  ye  martyrs  of  your  God, 
Who  from  his  altar  call ; 
Extol  the  stems  of  Jesse's  rod. 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all  I 

"Ye  seed  of  Israel's  chosen  race, 
Ye  ransomed  of  the  fall, 
Hail  him  who  saves  you  by  his  grace, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all ! 

"Hail  him,  ye  heirs  of  David's  lino, 

Whom  David  Lord  did  call, 

The  God  incarnate,  man  divine  ! 

And  crown  him  Lord  of  all ! 

"  dinners,  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget 
The  wormwood  and  the  gall, 
Go,  spread  your  trophies  at  his  feet, 
And  crow  n  him  Lord  of  all ! 

"Let  every  kindred  and  every  tongue 
That  bound  creation's  call 
Now  shout  in  universal  song. 
The  crowned  Lord  of  all.  " 


r 


340  Pen-one fs  hymn 


r 


"All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name!"  among-  Savages. 

XX  EV.  E.  P.  Scott,  while  laboring  as  a  missionary  in 
(c^  India,  saw  on  the  street  one  of  the  strangest  looking 
heathen  his  eyes  had  ever  lit  upon.  On  inquiry  he 
found  that  he  was  a  representative  of  one  of  the  inland 
tribes  that  lived  away  in  the  mountain  districts,  and 
which  came  down  once  a  year  to  trade. 

Upon  further  investigation  he  found  that  the  gosjiel 
had  never  been  preached  to  them,  and  that  it  was  very 
hazardous  to  venture  among  them  because  of  their  mur- 
derous propensities.  He  Avas  stirred  with  earnest  desires 
to  break  unto  them  the  bread  of  life.  He  went  to  his 
lodging-place,  fell  on  his  knees,  and  plead  for  divine  di- 
recti(m.  Arising  from  his  knees,  he  ])acked  his  valise, 
took  his  violin,  with  which  he  was  accustomed  to  sing, 
and  his  pilgrim  staff,  and  started  in  the  direction  of  the 
Macedonian  cry. 

As  he  bade  his  fellow  missionaries  farewell,  they  said: 
"We  will  never  see  you  again.  It  is  madness  for  you  to 
go."     "But,"  said  he,  "I  must  carry  Jesus  to  them." 

For  two  days  he  travelled  without  scarcely  meeting  a 
human  being,  until  at  last  he  found  himself  in  the  mount- 
ains, and  suddenly  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  savages. 

Every   spear  was  instantly  pointed  at  his  heart.     He 
expected   that  every   moment    would   be  his  last.     Not 
knowing  of  any  other  resource,  he  tried  the   power  of 
sin_o-ing  the  name  of  Jesus  to  them.     Drawing  forth  his 
violin," he  began  with  closed  eyes  to  sing  and   play: — 
"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  ! 
Let  angels  prostrate  fall; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all." 

Being   afraid  to  open  his  eyes,  he  sang  on  till  the  third 
verse,  and   while  singing  the  stanza, — 


Perronefs  hymn.  341 


"Let  every  kindred,  every  tribe, 
On  this  terrestrial  ball. 
To  Him  all  majesty  ascribe, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all,  " 

lie  opened  his  eyes  to  see  what  they  were  going  to  do, 
when  lo !  the  spears  had  dropped  from  their  hands,  and 
the  big  tears  were  falling  from  their  eyes. 

They  afterwards  invited  him  to  their  homes.  He 
spent  two  and  a  half  years  among  them.  His  labors 
were  so  richly  rewarded  that  when  he  was  compelled  to 
leave  them  because  of  impaired  health  and  return  to  this 
country,  they  followed  him  between  thirty  and  forty  miles. 
"Oh!  missionary,"  said  they  when  parting,  "come  back 
to  us  again.  There  are  tribes  beyond  us  which  never 
heard  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation."  He  could  not  re- 
sist their  entreaties.  After  visiting  America  he  went 
back  again  to  continue  his  labors,  till  he  sank  into  the 
grave  among  them. 

This  interesting  story  of  the  happy  effects  of  singing 
this  good  old  hymn  was  related  to  William  Reynolds 
Esq.  of  Peoria,  111.,  by  the  missionary  himself,  while  in 
this  country  trying  to  regain  his  health,  and  by  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds to  the  author  of  this  volume. 


"  Crown  Him  Lord  of  all. 


fHE  coronation  of  George  III.  was  attended  with  great 
applause.  Afterwards,  'when  the  two  Archbishops 
came  to  him  to  hand  him  down  from  the  throne,  to 
receive  the  sacrament,  he  told  them  he  could  not  ap- 
proach the  Lord's  supper,  with  a  crown  upon  his  head, 
for  he  could  not  dare  thus  to  appear  before  the  King  ot 
kings.  The  Bishops  replied,  that,  although  there  was  no 
precedent  for  this,  his  request  should  be  complied  with. 
Having  laid  it  aside,  he  requested  that  the  same  might  be 
done  with  the  crown  of  the  queen. 


1^ 


342  Perronefs  hymn. 


"Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem." 

f  Sunday  school   teacher  was  dying.     Just  before  he 
sank  away  he  turned  to  his  daughter,  who  was  bending 
most  lovingly  over  his  bed,  and  said,  "Bring — " 
More  he  could   not   say,   for  the  power  of  utterance 
failed  him.     His  child  looked  with  earnest  gaze  in  his 
face  and  said : 

"What  shall  I  bring,  my  father?" 
"Bring—" 

His  child  was  in  an  agony  of  desire  to  know  that  dying 
father's  last  request,  and  she  said:  "Dear  precious  father, 
do  try  to  tell  me  what  you  want.  I  will  do  anything 
you  wish  me  to  do. " 

The  dying  teacher  rallied  all  his  strength  and  finally 

murmured : — 

"  Bring — forth — the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  I^ord  of  all.  " 


"  Crown  him !  crown  him !  crown  him ! " 

fPOOK,  child's  funeral!  A  wagon  for  a  hearse,  and 
only  a  cart  with  three  poor  people  in  it  to  follow  it! 
A  very  poor  funeral  indeed ! 
Yes,  it  was  a  poor  funeral,  but  it  was  preceded  by  a 
glorious  death.  The  child  in  that  coffin  had  learned  to 
pray  and  to  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  He  was  therefore 
a  prince  in  disguise.  While  he  was  dying  his  father  sung 
these  lines  for  him  several  times: — 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  ! 
Let  angels  prostrate  fall ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all.  " 

W^henever  he  came  to  the  last  line  the  dying  boy  would 
brighten  up,  and  join  in  and  sing,  "  Crown  him!  Crown 
him !  Crown  him ! "  leaving  his  father  to  finish  the  line. 


Good  efects  of  singing.  343 


The  Hymn  that  Told  Jack's  Experience. 

tN  a  parish  in  England,  there  was  an  old  sailor,  Avho 
went  by  the  name  of  Jack.  In  going  along  the  street 
one  day  he  heard  a  number  of  women  singing : — 

"  Im  a  poor  sinner, 
And  nothing  at  all ; 
But  Jesus  Christ 
Is  my  all  in  all.  " 

The  man  gave  up  his  drunkenness,  and  very  soon  gave 
up  his  wickedness.  At  last  Jack  went  to  the  minister 
and  asked  to  be  admitted  to  church  membership.  The 
minister  asked,  "What  is  your  experience?"  "I  have 
none,"  said  Jack.  "Well  then,  John,  I  cannot  admit 
you."      "  W^ell, "  says  Jack,  "  I  have  no  experience,  but 

"  I'm  a  poor  sinner, 
And  nothing  at  all ; 
But  Jesus  Christ 
Is  my  all  in  all.  " 

"Well,"  says  the  minister,  "I  will  ask  the  deacons 
about  your  admission ;  but  you  will  be  expected  to  stale 
your  experience. "  The  deacons  were  assembled,  and 
Jack  was  called  on  to  answer  their  c|uestions,  to  which 
Jack  always  replied: — 

"  I'm  a  poor  sinner, 
And  nothing  at  all ; 
But  Jesus  Chtist 
Is  my  all  in  all.  " 

Says  the  old  deacon,  "That  is  not  enough;  tell  us  your 
doubts  and  fears, and  Mhy  you  seek  admission. "     " ^ay, " 
says  Jack,  "I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that 
'  I'm  a  poor  sinner. 
And  nothing  at  all; 

and  I  don't  fear  anything. 

But  Jesus  Christ 
Is  my  all  in  all.  " 

Jack  was  admitted,  and  to  the  end  led  a  Christian  life. 


.1) 


344  Robert  Robinson. 


i 


AUTHOR  OF  "  COME  THOU  FOUNT.  ' 


r 


HYMN  almost  as  well  known  as  "  Rock  of  ages  "  is 

"  Come  thou  fount  of  every  blessing^  " 

It  was  written  by  Robert  Robinson,  of  Cambridge, 
England  who  was  born  1735. 

He  was  but  a  lad  when  he  strolled  into  the  Tabernacle 
to  hear  Whitfield  preach.  He  was  startled,  arrested 
and  determined  then  and  there  to  give  his  life  to  God. 

Gifted  with  extraordinary  talent  he  entered  upon  the 
ministry,  and  in  the  Tabernacle  moved  his  audience  to 
enthusiasm  with  his  ])owerful  preaching. 

But  unstable  as  water,  and  as  a  wave  of  the  sea,  he 
went  from  one  thing  to  another  until  at  last  he  became  an 
avowed  Socinian. 

In  the  darkness  which  encompassed  him,  sometimes 
a  ray  of  the  light  of  former  years  would  fall  across  his 
path,  and  then  would  flash  upcm  him 

"  The  blessedness  I  knew 
When  first  I  saw  the  Lord. " 

One  day  he  was  travelling  by  coach  with  a  lady,  a 
stranger  to  him,  she  had  been  reading  his  hymn 

"  Come  thou  fount    of  every   blessiug.  " 

Turning  to  him  she  asked  him  if  he  knew  it,  and  tell- 
ing hira  of  the  comfort  and  happiness  it  had  been  to  her. 

Ho  tried  to  parry  her  questions,  but  she  returned  to 
it  again  and  again,  until  at  length  bursting  into  a  flood 
of  tears,  he  exclaimed  passionately,  "  Madam.  I  am  the 
poor,  unhappy  man  who  composed  that  hymn  many 
years  ago ;  and  I^voidd  give  a  thousand,  woi'lds  if  I  had 
them,  to  evjoy  the  feelings  I  had  then.  " 

On  Wednesday  morning  June  9th,  1790  he  was 
found  dead  in  bed,  having  expired,  as  he  often  express- 
ed his  wish  to  do,  *'  softly,  suddenly  and  alone,  " 


I 


ROBERT  ROBINSON. 


Robert  Robinson.  347 


Robinson's  father  having  died  when  he  was  young 
his  widowed  mother,  while  struggling  with  poverty 
found  herself  unable  to  give  him  tliat  education  he  de- 
sired. Therefore  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  appren 
ticed  to  a  hairdresser  in  London. 

But  his  thirst  for  knowledge  caused  his  master  to 
complain  that  he  gave  more  attention  to  his  books 
than  to  his  business. 

The  means  that  led  to  his  conversion  were  quite  sing- 
ular. Walking  out  one  day  with  several  companions 
their  attention'' was  called  to  an  old  woman  who  pre- 
tended to  tell  fortunes.  Robinson  was  informed  among 
other  things  that  he  would  live  to  a  very  old  age  and 
see  a  long  line  of  descendents. 

"And  so,"  said  he  when  alone,  "lam  to  see  children, 
grandchildren,  and  great  grand-children.  I  will  then," 
thouoht  he,  "during  my  youth,  endeavor  to  store  my 
mind  with  all  kinds  of  knowledge.  I  will  see,  and  hear, 
and  note  down  everything  that  is  rare  and  wonderful, 
that  I  may  sit,  when  incapable  of  other  employments, 
and  entertain  my  descendents.  Thus  shall  my  company 
be  rendered  pleasant,  and  I  shall  be  respected,  rather  than 
neo-lected,  in  old  age.  Let  me  see,  what  can  I  acquire 
first?  Oh,  here  is  the  famous  Methodist  preacher,  White- 
field ;  he  is  to  preach  here,  they  say  to-night;  I  will  go 
and  hear  him." 

From  these  strange  motives,  as  he  told  the  celebrated 
Rev.  Andrew  Fuller,  he  went  to  hear  Whitefield  preach. 
That  evening  his  text  Avas,  "But  when  he  saw  many  of 
the  Pharisees  and  Saddncees  come  to  his  Baptism,  he  said 
unto  them,  O  generation  of  vipers  who  hath  warned  you 
to  flee  from  the^vr^th  to  come? "  "  Mr.  Whitefield,''  said 
Robinson, "described  the  Saddncees'  character;  this  did 
not  touch  me;  I  thought  myself  as  good  a  Christian  as 
any  man  in  England.     From  this  he  Avent  to  that  of  the 


348  Robinson  continued. 


Pharisees.  He  sketched  their  exterior  decency,  but  observ- 
ed, that  tlie  poison  of  the  viper  rankled  in  their  hearts 
This  rather  shook  nie.  At  length,  in  the  course  of  his 
sermon,  he  abruptly  broke  off;  paused  for  a  few  mo- 
ments; then  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  lifted  up  his  hand 
and  eyes,  and  exclaimed,  'Oh, my  hearers,  the  wrath  to 
come!  the  wrath  to  come!'  These  words  sunk  into  my 
heart  like  lead  in  the  water :  I  wept,  and  when  the  ser- 
mon was  ended  retired  alone.  For  days  and  weeks  I 
could  think  of  little  else.  Those  awful  words  would  fol- 
low me  wherever  I  went :  '  The  wrath  to  come !  The 
■wrath  to  come? '" 

After  wandering  for  some  time  like  a  wounded  deer, 
pierced  with  the  arrows  of  conviction,  he  Avas  found  De- 
cember 10th,  1755,  of  one,  of  whom  he  afterwards  so 
sweetly  wTote  in  the  language  of  his  hymn. — 

"Jesus  sought  me  when  a  stranger, 
Wandering  from  the  fold  of  (Jod; 
He,  to  rt-scue  me  from  danger, 
Interposed  his  precious  blood.  " 

Another  grand  hymn  that  displays  the  genius  of  Rob- 
inson, and  that  is  often  sung,  originally  commenced, — 
"Miglity  God!  while  angels  bless  thee 
May  an  infant  lisp  thy  name  ! " 

The  word  "mortal,"  is  often  now  taken  for  "infant." 
Dr.  Belcher  says  that  this  was  "composed  for  the  use 
of  the  late  excellent  Benjamin  Williams,  Esq.,  for  many 
years,  senior  deacon  of  the  first  Baptist  church  at  Read- 
ing a  man  of  great  influence  and  usefulness.  When  a  little 
boy,  Benjamin  sat  on  Robinson's  knee  while  he  wrote 
this  hymn,  who,  after  having  read  it  to  him,  placed  it  in 
his  hand. 

"Well  do  we  remember  the  deep  feeling  with  which 
the  veneral)le  man  descril)ed  to  us  the  scene  as  we  sat 
with  him  at  his  own  fireside." 


C 


Robert  Robinson  continued.  349 


■'  Tune  my  heart  to  sing  thy  grace- " 

A  KY  illustrations  can  be  given  of  this  lino  of  "  Come 

thou    Fount."     "Do    you   wish  to    sing  as  angels 

sing?    Ask  of  God  an  heavenly  mind.    A  harp  must 

be  tunttd   before  it  makes   good   music.     And   when  the 

heart  is  put  in  tune,    well  warmed  with  the  love  of  God, 

singing  proves  delightsome  service,  and  a  heavenly  feast.' 

A  pastor,  who  is  now  filling  a  Philadelphia  pulpit,  and 
has  already  added  many  jewels  to  the  Saviour's  crown, 
in  giving  his  experience  to  the  author,  says  that  it  was 
the  marked  contrast  between  heart  service  and  lip  service 
in  singing,  that  led  to  his  conversion. 

When  a  young  man  he  Avas  attending  the  dedication 
of  a  new^  church  in  a  dark  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  a  sec- 
tion at  that  time  bitterly  opposed  to  vital  godliness,  and 
frozen  over  with  a  dead  religious    formalism. 

A  revival  had  brought  together  a  little  proying  band 
who  were  consecrating  their  new  building  with  a  "living 
sacrifice"  of  praise.  The  fires  of  persecution,  as  well  as 
the  pentecostal  flames  from  above  had  melted  away  all 
discord  from  the  heart,  so  that  the  singing  sounded  forth 
upon  the  crowd  of  listeners  with  melting  power.  Among 
this  group  was  our  friend  standing  on  a  log  under  the  trees, 
some  distance  away  from  the  church.  Hitherto  he  had 
prided  himself  upon  his  abilities  as  a  choir-leader,  but 
while  under  the  sound  of  these  heart-tuned  voices  he  felt 
as  if  he  had  yet  to  learn  the  rudiment  of  Christian  singing. 

With  trembling  and  tears  he  left  that  hallowed  ground, 
and  resolved  to  get  his  heart  right  before  he  Mould  sing 
again.  He  at  once  resigned  his  position  in  the  church 
of  which  he  was  a  communicant  member,  and  when  the 
reason  was  asked,  he  replied  that  he  was  no  longer  going 
to  mock  his  God  with  lip-service,  while  his  heart  was 
out  of  tune  and  far  from  him. 


w 


350  JoJin  Ryland. 


A  Hymn  Composed  During-  a  Sermon. 

tN  many  books  is  found  the  hymn,  commencing — 
*'  In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways 

My  journey  I'll  pursue; 
'Hinder  me  not,  '  ye  much-loved  saints, 
For  I  must  go  with  you.  ' 

It  was  written  by  Rev.  John  Ryland,  D.  D.,  an  emi- 
nent Baptist  minister,  born  in  England  in  1753.  Blest 
with  a  pious  mother,  he  was  early  taught,  as  Doddridge 
was,  with  Scripture  lessons  that  adorned  their  fire-place. 

When  five  years  old  he  could  read  Hebrew,  and  at 
nine  the  entire  New  Testament  in  Greek.  At  fourteen 
he  united  with  his  father's  church.  At  eighteen  he 
preached  his  first  sermon. 

While  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Northampton 
the  hymn  referred  to  above  thus   took  its  rise: — 

"Several  stage  coaches  daily  passed  through  the  town; 
and,  as  the  good  pastor  lived  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  inn  where  they  exchanged  horses,  he  contrived 
to  meet  every  evangelical  minister  who  passed  through 
the  town,  and  not  unfrequently  almost  compelled  them 
to  stay  a  day  on  the  road,  that  they  might  give  his  peo- 
ple a  sermon  in  the  evening.  On  one  occasion  he  had 
thus  treated  a  brother  in  the  ministry,  who  most  reluc- 
tantly yielded  and  appeared  in  the  pulpit  with  the  text, 
'Hinder  me  not,'  Gen.  xxiv.  56.  Dr  Ryland,  as  is 
still  customary  in  England,  sat  in  the  desk  below  the 
pulpit  to  read  the  hymns;  and,  as  his  brother  proceeded, 
every  Hiead  of  discourse'  was  'turned  into  poetry, '  which 
at  the  end  of  his  sermon  was  duly  read  and  a  portion  of 
it  sung. "  In  eight  verses  of  the  hymn  the  text  was  re- 
peated. He  is  the  author  of  ninety-nine  hymns,  the  most 
popular  being  those  commencing,  "Sovereiarn  'Ruler  of 
the  skies,'"  and  "O  Lord!  I  Avould  delight^ in  Thee." 


Myland  continued.  353 


He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  from 
Brown  University  of  Khode  Island,  America.  In  1794, 
he  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Baptist  College  at 
Bristol,  together  with  the  pastorate  of  Broadmead  Chapel. 
In  this  twofold  capacity,  he  continued  to  labor  till  his 
death,  which  took  place  in  1825,  in  the  seventy-third 
year  of  his  age.  His  last  utterance  was,  "  No  more  pain." 
His  eminent  successor,  Robert  Hall,  passed  a  high  eu- 
logium  upon  him,  as  a  pastor,  preacher,  tutor,  and 
author. 

The  following  is  doubtless  his  best  hymn,  and  is  fre- 
quently sung: — 

"  0  Lord,  I  would  delight  in  thee, 

And  on  thy  care  depend  ; 
To  thee  in  every  trouble  flee 

My  best,  my  only  friend." 
"  When  all  created  streams  are  dried, 

Thy  fulness  is  the  same  ; 
Way  I  with  this  be  satisfied, 

And  glory  in  thy  name. 
"  No  good  in  creatures  can  be  found, 

But  may  be  found  in  thee ; 
■  I  must  have  all  things,  and  abound 

While  God  is  God  to  me. 
"  0  !  that  I  had  a  stronger  faith, 

To  look  within  the  vei!, 
To  credit  what  my  Saviour  saith, 

Whose  word  can  never  fail." 

This  hymn  was  issued  in  1777,  and  consisted  originally 
of  seven  verses.  He  makes  the  following  note  in  re- 
lation to  it,  in  the  original  manuscript:  "I  recollect 
deeper  feelings  of  mind  in  composing  this  hymn,  than 
perhaps  I  ever  felt  in  making  another." 

His  was  a  busy  intellectual  life,  writing  hymns  even 
in  his  childhood,  and  gradually  ascending  the  scale  of 
honor,  till  he  became  one  of  the  most  eminent  Hebrew 
scholars,  and  Theologians  of  his  day. 

r  g)i 


354  Hans  Sachs. 


r 


The  Shoemaker  Kymn- Writer. 

fANS  SACHS  was  a  remarkable  man.  Born  of  poor 
parents  at  Nuremberg  in  1494,  lie  was  obliged  in 
early  life  to  leave  his  school  lor  the  bench  of  the 
shoemaker.  At  twenty  he  wrote  his  first  poem,  Avhich 
was  a  hymn  of  praise  to  God.  Afterwards  he  wrote  many 
poems  and  hymns,  which  he  would  sing  in  the  hearing 
of  the  people,  and  during  five  years  visited  many  cities, 
working  at  his  trade  and  singing  wherever  he  went. 

When  the  great  Reformation  under  Luther  commenced, 
Sachs  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-three.  He  at  once 
joyfully  embraced  the  good  cause,  and  helped  it  along  by 
writing  and  singing  a  great  number  of  hymns  and  relig- 
ious songs.  These  quickly  Ibllowed  one  another  and 
were  scattered  far  and  wide. 

He  is  spoken  of  as  "the  best  poet  of  his  day;  the  one 
who  linked  the  times  that  were  passing  to  the  new  period 
that  was  coming  in, 

"  '  While  dawn  was  piercing  through  the  night ; ' 
for  he  characteristically    belonged  to    the  Middle  Ages, 
and  yet  was  among  the  earliest  and  warmest  adherents  of 
the  Reformation." 

His  pure  and  unostentatious  life  won  for  him  great 
favor  although  he  was  represented  in  old  doggrel  rhyme  as 

"Hans' Sachs,  who  was  a  shoe- 
Maker,  and  a  poet  too." 

Gays  one,  "His  })oetry  is  distinguished  by  its  heartiness, 
good  sense,  homely,  genuine  morality  and  freshness,  its 
clear  and  healthy  liumor,  and  its  skillful  manipulations 
of  material." 

After  writing  poetry  for  fifty-two  years,  he  took  an 
account  of  his  work,  when  he  found  that  he  had  produced 
upwards  of  six  thousand  and  two  hundred  pieces  of  var- 
ious kind.     In  1558  he  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 


W 


HANS  SACHS. 


Sachs  continued. 


357 


\x 


fruit  of  his  poetic  life  gathered  in  five  fol  o  xolumes 

In  his  old  age  he  spent  his  time  mostly  at  a  table  pe- 
rusing the  pa|es  of  his  much-used  Bible,  of  which  he 
said  in  one  of  his  hymns  :— 

"  'Twill  make  tliee  pure  and  holy, 
And  teach  thee  that  in  Jesus  lies 
Our  hope  and  comfort  solely. ' 

He  parsed  away,  January  25, 1576,  being  in  his  eighty- 
s^^XZ.  His  well-carea-for  grave  s  st.ll  to  be  seen 
ni  native  city.  We  give  herewith  tl,e  most  toons 
of  his  German  hymns,  written  dunng  the  seige  of  IS  u- 

remberg  in  1561 : — 

"  Warum  betruebst  du  dich  mein  Hertz?  " 

Entitled,  "Reliance  upon  God  in  Trial."     It  has  been 
thus  translated  by  Rev.  M.  Sheeleigh:— 

«  Why  vail  thyself  in  gloom,  my  heart, 
And  grieve  thyself  with  bitter  smart 

Concerning  earthly  good? 
With  humble  trust  do  thou  rely 
On  God,  who  made  the  earth  and  sky. 

«He  cannot,  will  not,  turn  from  thee; 
Thy  wants  His  eye  full  well  doth  see ; 

Heaven  and  earth  are  His. 
My  father  and  my  God,  indeed. 
Will  keep  me  in  each  time  of  need. 

"While  Thou  my  God  and  Father  art, 
From  me,  Thy  child,  thou  wilt  not  part 

0  tenderest  Father  thou  ! 

A  helpless  one  of  dust  my  birth, 

No  comfort  do  I  find  in  earth. 

««When  others  to  their  riches  cling, 
A  trusting  heart  to  God  I  bring ; 

And  though  I  be  despised. 
This  still  my  steadfast  faith  must  he,— ^ 
He  shall  not  want  who  trusts  in  thee. 


358 


Walter  Shirley. 


•  Peace,  troubled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan." 
Lord,  dismiss  us  witli  Thy  blessing.  " 


fllE  hymns  commencing  thus  are  often  sung.    '  They 
were  written  by  Hon.  and  Rev.  Walter  Shirley,  M'ho 
was  born  of  a  noble  family  in  England,  1725. 
He  was  a  first  cousin  of  the  devoted  Countess  of  Hun- 
tingdon, and  a  frequent  visitor  to  her  London  residence, 
Avhere  he  became  acquainted  with  Wesley  and  Whitefield. 
After  preaching  in  the   chapels  of  Lady  Huntingdon, 
and  elsewhere  with   great  success,   he  was  called  to  fill 
the  Episcopal   pulpit  at  Loughrea,   Ireland,  M'here  he 
spent  the  most  of  his  life. 

When  the  missionaries  from  Lady  Huntingdon's  Col- 
lege Avere  about  starting  for  America  in  1772,  he  showed 
his  interest  in  the  work  by  writing  the  hymn: — 
•'  Go,  destined  vessel,  heavenly  freighted,  go, 
For  lo  '  the  Lord's  ambassadors  are  there, " 

He  felt  and  manifested  great  sympathy  for  the  great  Meth- 
odist movement  of  his  day,  and  was  willing  to  bear  bit- 
ter persecution  in  its  behalf. 

In  1760,  he  seemed  much  broken  down  by  the  execu- 
tion of  his  brother,  the  Earl  Ferrars,  for  shooting  his 
servant.  He  av rote  to  Wesley,  saying,  *' I  have  reason 
to  bless  God  for  the  humbling  lessons  he  has  taught  me 
through  these  awful  visitations. " 

It  is  supposed  that  this  sad  occurrence  gave  rise  to 
that  well  known  hymn  of  his: — 

"  Peace,  troubled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan 
Has  taught  these  rocks  the  notes  of  woe.  " 

As  he  grew  in  years  he  advanced  in  zeal  and  grace. 
When  unable  to  leave  the  house  because  of  a  painful 
disease,  he  preached  from  his  chair  in  his  sick  room  to 
the  many  who  flocked  to  hear  him.  The  numbers  fre- 
quently filling  every  available  space  in  the  house. 


r 


W 


S,  F.  Smith. 


359 


I 


Origin  of  "My  country,  'tis  of  thee." 

EV.    S.    F.    Smith    D.    D.    an  eminent  New   Eng- 
land   Baptist  minister,  is     the   author   of  this   and 

some  thirty  other  hymns.  In  answer  to  some  inqui- 
ries concerning  the  composition  of  tliis  hymn,  he  says: 
"One  day,  I  think  in  the  month  of  February,  1831 
or  '32,  in  turning  over  the  leaves  of  music  books,  I  fell 
in  with  the  tune  'God  save  the  King,'  though  I  did  not 
know  it  at  that  time  to  be  the  English  national  air.  I 
at  once  wrote  a  patriotic  hymn  in  the  same  measure  and 
spirit,  and  soon  after  gave  it  to  Mr.  Lowell  Mason,  to- 
gether Avith  other  pieces,  and  thought  no  more  of  it.  On 
the  next  4th  of  July,  I  found  that  the  jiiece  was  brought 
out  for  the  first  time  at  a  children's  celebration  of  the  day 
in  Park  street  church,  Boston.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  its  course.  It  gradually  found  its  way  into  music 
books  for  children,  and  into  ])ublic  schools  in  various 
places;  and  thus  I  cannot  but  think,  may  have  had  an 
influence  in  infusing  into  many  childish  hearts  a  love  of 
country,  which  prepared  them  to  battle  for  the  right, 
the  true  and  the  good,  when  the  time  of  peril  to  our  in- 
stitutions and  our   country    came. 

"  I  have  often  remarked  that  if  I  had  supposed  the 
piece  would  have  been  so  popular,  I  should  have  taken 
more  pains  to  perfect  it.  'Yes,'  says  some  one,  'and 
thus,  perhaps,  you  would  have  spoiled  it.'  It  has  won 
its  way,  most  unexpectedly  to  myself,  into  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  I  have  lieard  most  gratifying  narratives  of 
the  places  where  the  circumstances  under  which  it  has 
served  as  the  expression  of  heart-felt  love  of  country — 
in  schools,  in  huts,  on  Western  prairies,  in  churches,  on 
the  eve  of  battle,  and  in  soldier's  hospitals.  I  never  de- 
signed it  for  a  national  hymn — I  never  supposed  I  was 
writino;  one. " 


C 


360  Anne  Steele. 


Author  of  "  Thfc'  Saviour !  0  what  endless  charms. " 


^  NAME   that   will    linger   long  in  the   memory   of 
•^  those  who  love  to  sing  the  songs  of  Zion,   is  that  of 
Anne  Steele. 

She  was  born  in  1716,  and  w^as  the  eldest  (laughter 
of  Rev.  William  Steele,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at 
Broughton,  England.  She  united  herself  Avith  the 
church  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  remained  in  con- 
nection with  her  father's  church  till  in  her  sixty  second 
year  she  was  transferred  to  the  skies.  When  liev.  Henry 
Steele,  her  father's  uncle  and  predecessor,  had  charge  of 
the  church,  he  was  so  popular  that  the  neighboring  Epis- 
copal minister  reported  to  his  Bishop  that  his  parish  was 
sadly  invaded  by  the  dissenter.  *'How  can  I  best  op- 
pose him?"  said  he.  "Go  home  and  preach  better  than 
Henry  Steele,  and  the  people  will  return,"  was  the  wise 
reply  of  Bishop  Burnett. 

She  commenced  w^'iting  poetry  in  early  life,  but  with- 
held her  name. 

In  her  father's  diary,  dated  Nov.  29.  1757,  is  made 
this  entry  concerning  the  issue  of  her  first  i)roduction: 

''This  day,  Nanny  sent  part  of  her  composition  to 
London,  to  be  printed.  I  entreat  a  gracious  God,  who 
enabled,  and  stirred  her  up  to  such  a  work,  to  direct  in 
it  and  bless  it  for  the  good  of  many.  *  *  *  *  I  pray 
God  to  make  it  useful,  and  keep  her  humble." 

Any  one  M'ho  traces  the  influences  that  her  hymns 
have  already  wielded  for  over  a  century  can  see  a  boun- 
tiful answer  to  this  father's  prayer  and  solicitude. 

Having  consented,  in  early  life,  to  be  wedded  to  Mr. 
Elscourt,  a  young  man  of  promise,  the  day  of  the  wed- 
ding was  fixed.  But  a  short  time  before  the  appointed 
hour,  he  went  down  in  the  river  to  bathe,  when  getting 
beyond  his  depth,  he  was  drowned. 


r 


Annie  Steele's  REfinEKCF. 


Anne  Steele.  363 


c: 


Through  an  accident  in  her  childhood,  Miss  Steele 
was  made  a  sufferer,  and  an  invalid  all  through  life. 
In  the  retirement  of  her  sick-chamber  she  was  taught 
the  lesson  by  e:3^perience,  that  she  breathes  out  so  sweetly 
in  her  hymn : — 

"Give  me  a  calm,  a  thankful  heart, 
From  every  murmur  free; 
The  blessings  of  Thy  grace  impart, 
And  make  me  live  to  Thee." 

The  death  of  her  father  in  1769  was  a  great  shock  to 
her  frail  tenement,  from  which  she  never  fully  recovered. 
From  this  time,  she  was  confined  to  her  chamber,  and 
"looked  with  sweet  resignation  to  the  time  of  her 
removal  from  earth,  and  when  it  happily  arrived,  she 
Avas,  amidst  great  pain,  full  of  peace  and  joy.  She  took 
the  most  affectionate  leave  of  her  friends  avIio  stood  weep- 
ing around  her,  and  uttering  the  triumphant  words,  *I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,'  closed  her  eyes,  and 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus."     Thus  she  departed  in  1778. 

The  one  hundred  and  forty-four  hymns,  and  thirty- 
four  Psalms  that  issued  from  her  peti,  she  lay  upon  the 
altar  as  an  entire  consecration  to  Him  she  so  dearly 
loved,  and  would  only  permit  them  to  be  published  with 
the  understanding  that  all  the  profits  should  go  to  be- 
nevolent objects.  It  is  supposed  "that  no  woman,  and 
but  few  men,  ever  wrote  so  many  hymns  that  have  been 
so  generally  acceptable  in  the  church  as  did  Miss  Steele. " 

One  secret  of  the  success  of  her  hymns,  no  doubt,  is 
the  warmth  of  her  heart-breathings  after  Him,  of  whom 
she  beautifully  says: — 

"  Jesns,  ray  Lord,  in  Thy  dear  name  unite 

All  things  my  heart  calls  great  or  good  or  sweet ; 
Divinest  springs  of  wonder  and  delight, 

in  Thee,  Thou  fairest  often  thousand,  meet." 


:$>} 


364  James  Shei^nan. 


Remarkable  Effects  Attending  a  Closing  Eymn. 

fEV.  JAMES   SHERMAN  relates  the  following:— 
"In  tlie  early  part  of  the  year  1837,  I  preached  one 
Sabbath  evening  from  Mark  iv,  36,  'And  there  were 
also  with  him  other  little  ships. '       Tiie  subject  was  the 
earnestness  with  which   men  must  seek  for  Christ,  and 
the  risk  they  must  be  willing  to  run  to  find  him. 

"As  I  proceeded  in  the  illustrations  and  enforcement  of 
the  princi])les  stated,  there  came  from  heaven  a  celestial 
breeze,  and  one  little  ship  after  another  seemed  to  start  in 
search  of  Christ,  until  they  became  a  fleet. 

"They  were  melted  into  penitance  and  tears.  Never 
shall  I  forget  the  impression  made  when  at  the  close  of 
the  sermon  I  gave  out  the  hymn  : — 

"  Jesus,  at  thy  command  * 

I  launch  into  the  deep." 

"When  I  descended  from  the  pulpit,  both  vestries  and 
the  school-room  were  filled  with  persons  anxious  to  con- 
verse with  me.  I  began  to  talk  with  them  one  at  a  time, 
During  my  converse,  and  after  he  liad  Avaited  more 
than  an  hour,  a  gentleman  of  some  position  knocked  at 
my  vestry  door,  and  said,  'Sir  here  arc  enougli  to  fill 
twenty  boats;  what  will  you  do  with  us?'  Exhausted 
beyond  measure,  I  kneeled  down  and  prayed  witli  them. 
The  place  was  literally  aBochim. 

"  After  pronouncing  the  benediction,  I  begged  for  tliem 
to  retire,  and  come  and  see  me  on  the  morrow  or  on 
Tuesday.  But  some  begged,  as  for  their  life,  that  I 
would  converse  Avith  them  for  a  few  minutes.  I  remained 
among  them  until  eleven  o'clock,  listening  to  their  re- 
peated vows  and  anxious  expressions  of  faith  in  Christ. 
Oh,  it  was  worth  dying  for,  to  witness  such  a  scene. 
After  examination,  many  were  admitted  to  the  church, 
eight-four  attributing  their  conversion  to  that  sermon." 


Pedicor<Vs  singing.  365 


Drawn  into  the  Gospel  Net  by  Singing. 

tURIS^G  the  revolutionary  war,  shortly  after  the 
memorable  1776,  there  occurred  a  very  interesting  case 
of  conversion  In  connection  with  the  singing  of  the 
Rev.  Caleb  B.  Pedicord  amid  the  primitive  forests  of 
Maryland.  He  is  described  as  "  one  of  the  saintliest  men 
of  his  age.  His  voice,  in  both  singing  and  preach- 
ino-,  had  a  dissolving  power  of  tenderness." 

While  on  his  circuit  in  Dorcester  county,  Md.,  he  was 
riding  slowly  along  to  his  appointment  at  Mount  Holly. 
As  his  eye  of  faith  was  looking  ahead  at  the  bright  man- 
sions of  his  Father's  house,  awaiting  him  at  the  end  of 
life's  journey,  his  overflowing  heart  began  to  sing  aloud ; — 

"  I  cannot,  I  cannot  forbear 

These  passionate  longings  for  home  ; 
O  when  shall  my  spirit  be  there  ? 
0  when  will  the  messenger  come?" 

The  echo  of  this  song  fell  upon  the  ear  of  a  young 
revolutionary  soldier,  who  was  wandering  in  an  adjoining 
forest,  as  he  listened  his  soul  w^as  stirred  by  the  sweet 
melody  of  the  voice,  and  the  last  two  lines  of  the  verse. 
"  After  he  ceased, "  writes  the  listening  soldier,  "  I  went 
out  and  followed  him  a  great  distance,  hoping  he  would 
begin*  again.  He  however  stopped  at  tlie  house  of  a 
Methodist  and  dismounted.  I  then  concluded  he  must 
be  a  Methodist  preacher  and  would  probably  preach  that 
evening." 

That  evening  the  young  soldier  was  drawn  out  to  hear 
tlie  singer  again.  The  sermon  was  the  power  of  God 
to  his  salvation.  He  at  once  enlisted  as  a  soldier  for 
Jesus,  and  afterwards  became  a  prominent  preacher,  and 

formanv  years  a  founder  of  many    churches.      He  was 
the  widely    known    and   much   beloved  Rev.    Thomas 

Ware. 


C 


]G()  Samuel  Stennett. 


Samuel  Stennett  and  his  Hymns. 


^ 


/J.  HOUGH  grace  does  not  run  like  blood  in  the  veins, 
(^  from  one  generation  to  another,  yet  the  virtue  of  tiie 
prayers,  and  godly  example  of  Christians,  does 
often  descend,  through  the  hearts  of  their  children, 
to  succeeding  ages.  A  forcible  illustration  of  this  is  given 
in  the  genealogy  of  the  Stennetts. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Stennett  was  the  father  of  the  Rev. 
Jose))h  Stennett,  born  in  1663,  who  wrote  the  precious 
Sabbath  Hymn,  commencing, 

"  Another  six  days'  work  is  done, 
Another  Sabbath  ij  begun  ; 
Return  my  soul !  enjoy  thy  rest, 
Improve  the  day  thy  God  hath  blessed." 

To  him  was  born  a  son,  in  1692,  who  became  the  cel- 
ebrated Rev.  Joseph  Stennett,  D.  D,  a  zealous  Christian 
in  early  life,  and  afterwards  a  minister  of  high  repute. 
He  became  the  father  of  a  son,  whose  likeness  we  give 
on  the  opposite  page,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stennett,  D.  D. 
A  son  of  the  latter,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Stennett,  took  his 
father's  mantle,  thus  making  the  fifth  link  in  the  chain 
of  ministers,  descending  through  five  generations. 

Samuel  Stennett  was  born  at  Exeter,  England,  in 
1727.  Ten  years  later,  his  father  took  charge  qf  the 
Baptist  church  at  Little  Wild  Street,  London.  There 
this  son  first  became  his  assistant,  and  afterwards  his 
successor.  In  this  pastorate  he  continued  for  thirty-seven 
years,  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  from 
King's  College,  at  Aberdeen,  in  1763,  and  was  highly 
esteemed  by  his  sovereign,  George  III.  High  prefer- 
ment was  offered  him  in  the  Church  of  England,  but 
faithful  to  his  sense  of  duty,  he  declined,  saying:  "I 
dwell  among  mine  own  people." 


SAMUEL  STENNETT. 


Stennett  continued.  369 


He  was  eminent  in  his  literary  attainments,  and 
ranked  with  Addison  in  the  style  and  force  of  his  com- 
positions, How  beautiful  the  language  of  his  hymn  that 
commences  in  some  books : — - 

«'  Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned 
Upon  the  Saviour's  brow," 

During  his  last  sickness,  he  gave  expression  to  senti- 
ments similar  to  those  found  in  the  third  verse:— 

«'  He  saw  me  plunged  in  deep  distress , 
He  flew  to  my  relief; 
For  me  he  bore  the  shameful  cross, 
And  carried  all  my  grief." 

Some  vinegar,  mixed  with  other  ingredients  had  been 
given  him  as  a  throat  gargle,  when,  with  much  emotion, 
he  said:  "'And  in  his  thirst  they  gave  him  vinegar  to 
drink,'  Oh  when  I  reflect  upon  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
I  am  ready  to  ask,  What  have  I  been  thinking  of  all 
my  life?  What  he  did  and  suffered  are  now  my  only 
support."  Ill 

In  1795,  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  had  earnest 

longings  to  depart  also,  and  could  say  in  the  language 

of  his  hymn: — 

«'  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 
And  cast  a  wishful  eye 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 
Where  my  possessions  lie." 

He  died  in  1795,  aged  sixty-eight.  His  hymns  num- 
ber thirty-nine.  In  addition  to  the  two  popular  ones, 
just  referred  to,  we  may  mention  the  following  as  also 
frequently  used : — 

"  Come,  every  pious  heart," 

"  How  charming  is  the  place," 

"  Here  at  thy  table,  Lord,  we  meet," 

"  Prostrate,  dear  Jesus,  at  thy  feet," 

"  '  'Tis  finished  I '  so  the  Saviour  cried." 


370 


Samuel  Stennetfs  hymn. 


On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand.  " 

ISS  BARBARA  JEWITT'S 

departure  was  illustrative  of 
the  sentiments  of  this  well- 
known  hymn,  issued  by  Sam- 
uel Stennett,  in  1750.  Says 
the  Wesleyan  Magazine:  "On 
the  day  of  her  death  she  was 
sitting  in  her  chair,  in  which 
she  had  sat  for  three  weeks, 
and  broke  out  into  singing  in 
a  loud  tone  the  delightful 
hymn: — 

"  '  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 
And  CMst  a  wishful  eye 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 
Where  my  possessions  lie.' 

Her  relatives  were  alarmed,  for  she  had  only  been  able 
to  speak  in  a  whisper  for  some  weeks.  After  singing 
half-an-h(jur,  she  requested  this  hymn  to  be  given  out, — 

"  '  Come  on  my  partners  in  distress,' 
in  the  singing  of  which  she  joined  at  intervals  with  earn- 
estness. 'Sing  on,  sing  on,'  she  frequently  said  to  her 
friends.  Then,  as  if  talking  to  angelic  spirits,  she  said, 
'Stay,  stay,  I  am  not  ready  yet. '  She  requested  this 
hymn  to  be  sung, — 

"  '  0  glorious  hope  of  perfect  love  ' 
Her  sight  now  failed  her,  and  she  asked  her  friends  to 
come  nearer  and  sing  on.      Whilst  they  were  thus  engaged 
she  waved   her  hand  round  in  triumph,  and  sang: — 

'"And  makes  me  for  some  moments  feast 
With  Jesus's  priests  and  king. ' 

She  then  fell  back  in  her  chair,  and  in  a  moment  her 
spirit  fled  to  the  skies. " 


r 


Samuel  Stennetfs  hyrrm.  371 


"Infinite  day  excludes  the  night." 

f  LITTLE  child,  trying  to  solve  the  mystery  of  the 
heavens  above,  gave  expression  to  this  pretty  thought: 
As,  one  evening,  she  was  gazing  upward  with  won- 
dering eyes,  she  said:  ''Ma,  don't  you  think  the  stars  are 
gimlet-holes  that  God   has   boretl   through  the  floor  of 
heaven,  to  let  its  light  shine  down  on  earth." 

Heaven's  light  does  reach  earth,  and  often  gilds  the 
hdltops  that  overlook  the  valley  of  death. 

As  the  Rev.  Thomas  Scott  was  exchanging  worlds, 
he  exclaimed  as  he  got  a  glimpse  of  the  glory-land, 
"This  is  heaven  begun.  I  have  done  with  darkness  for 
ever — for  ever. " 


f  YOUNG  girl,  whose  life's  journey  was  just  ending, 
made  a  feeble  effort  to  speak.  Mother,  father,  sister, 
and  all  came  closer  to  her  side.  A  joyous  smile  lit 
up  her  countenance,  die  laid  her  little  hand  Avithin  her 
mother's  palm,  then  closed  her  eye-lids  to  the  light  of 
earth,  and  sank  away.  The  cold  damp  of  death's  shad- 
owy valley  seemed  circling  over  her.  But  see!  the  lips 
open  again,  and  Avhisper  the  parting  Avords:  "JMother! 
mother!  I  see  a  Ught\  I'm  almost  home!" 


fS  tlie  shadows  of  death  were  gathering  around  the 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hughes  of  West  Pennsyl- 
vania, she  could  no  longer  see  the  faces  of  loved  ones 
that  were  bending  over  her  couch,  but  still  able  to  move 
the  tongue,  she  whispered:   "Papa,   I  cannot  see  you. 
I'm  going  to  the  light-land  where  it's  dark  no  more. " 

fHE  father  of  the  Rev.  J.  France  of  Baltimore,  INId., 
when  in  the  dark  valley,  cheered  a  weeping  circle  of 
friends  by  saying  as  his  last  words  "I see  light  ahead. " 


1 


£7 


872  Samuel  Stennetfs  hymn. 


Influence  of  a  blind  Slave's  Song. 

f  COLLEGE  student  in  Virginia,  proud  of  his  intel- 
lectual attainments,  thought  if  he  ever  became  a 
Christian  it  would  be  thiough  an  eloquent  sermon  of 
some  distinguished  pulpit  orator.  While  hunting  deer 
during  a  vacation  he  was  drawn  to  a  gorge  far  away  in 
the  mountains,  by  the  sound  of  a  sweet  female  voice,  en- 
gaged in  singing.  As  he  drew  nearer  he  recognized  the 
words  of  the  hymn : — 

"  There  is  a  happy  land 
Far  far   away. " 

At  length  he  perceived  a  log  cabin,  and  an  old  female 
slave,  with  hair  as  white  as  snow,  standing  without  at 
her  wash  tub  singing  away  as  though  her  heart  was  over- 
flowing with  gladness.  She  was  unusually  tall  and  very 
straight.  As  the  young  student  stood  enchanted  with 
the  romantic  scene,  he  found  that  she  was  also  blind,  and, 
as  she  kept  on  singing  and  washing,-her  happy  soul  would 
become  so  full  of  joy  that  she  would  stop  washing,  and, 
for  a  while  straightening  up,  and  turning  her  sightless 
eye-balls  heavenward,  would  make  the  surrounding  rocks 
and  mountains  ring  as  her  joyful  voice  would  sing: — 
"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight 
Where  saints  immortal  reign.  " 

At  length  the  student  said  to  her,  "Auntie,"  I  see  you 
are  blind?"  "No,  massa,"  said  she,  "I  is  not  blind." 
I  can't  see  you,  nor  dese  trees,  nor  dese  rocks,  nor  dese 
mountains,  but  I  can  see  into  de  kingdom.  I  can  see 
de  "happy  land,  far,  far,  away." 

The  young  student  was  so  impressed  with  what  he  saw 
and  heard  that,  from  that  time  on,  he  was  deeply  con- 
victed of  sin,  and  rested  not  till  he  found  rest  in  Jesus. 

He  eventually  became  a  minister,  and  told  the  author 
that  the  echo  of  that  happy  slave's  song  still  follows  him. 


A  happy  singer.  373 


C 


The  Blind  Man  of  the  Mine. 

Q.  had  descended  one  thousand  feet  beneath  the  earth's 
^  surface,  in  the  coal  pits  of  the  Mid  Lotian  Mines  in 
^  Virginia,  aud  was  wandering  through  their  dark,  sub- 
terranean passages,  when  the  sound  of  music  at  a  little 
distance  broke  upon  my  ear.  It  ceased  upon  our  approach, 
and  I  caught  only  the  concluding  sentiment  of  the  hymn, 
"  I  shall  be  in  Heaven    iu  the  morning.  '' 

On  advancing  with  our  lamps,  we  found  the  passage 
closed  ])y  a  door,  in  order  to  give  a  different  direction  to 
the  current  of  air  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation,  yet  this 
door  must  be  opened  occasionally  to  let  the  rail  carsjiass, 
loaded  with  coal.  And  to  accomplish  this,  we  found  sit- 
ting by  that  door  an  aged  blind  slave,  whose  eyes  had 
been  entirely  destroyed  by  a  blast  of  gunpowder  many 
years  before,  in  that  mine.  There  he  sat,  on  a  seat  cut  in 
the  coal,  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  day  after  day;  his  sole 
business  being  to  open  and  shut  the  door,  when  he  heard 
tlie  rail  cars  approaching.  We  requested  him  to  sing  a- 
gain  the  hymn  whose  last  line  we  had  heard.  It  was  one 
of  those  productions  which  we  found  the  pious  slaves  were 
in  the  habit  of  singing,  in  part,  at  least,  impromptu.  But 
each  stanza  closed  with  the  sentiment, 

"  I  shall  be  in  Heaven  in  t'.ie  morning.  " 

It  was  sung  with  a  clear  and  pleasant  voice,  and  I  could 
see  the  shrivelled,  sightless  eyeballs  of  the  old  man  roll 
in  their  sockets,  as  ifhis  soul  felt  the  inspiring  sentiments. 

There  he  stood,  an  old  man,  blind  and  enslaved-Avhat 
could  he  hope  f  r  on  earth  ?  He  was  buried,  too,  a  thous- 
and feet  beneath  the  solid  rocks.  There,  from  month  to 
month,  he  sat  in  darkness.  Oh,  how  utterly  cheerless  his 
condition  !  And  yet  that  one  pleasant  hope  of  a  resurrection 
morning  was  enough  to  infuse  peace  and  joy  in  his  soul 


^ 


374  Singing  to  save  souls. 


G 


Singing  a  Man  to  Christ. 

**  ^  'LL  tell  you  what,  I  heard  singin'   to-night  that 

'^  made  me  wish  I  was  in  heaven,  or  good  enough  to 
go  there, "  said  an  old  backwoodsman  to  his  wife,  as,  en- 
tering their  log  hut,  he  sat  down   to  his  evening  meal. 

"Where  did  you  hear  it?  she  asked. 

"  At  our  neighbor's  up  yonder.  They  must  feel  some- 
thing I  don't  know  about,  or  they  couldn't  sing  so.  " 

"  When  they  first  came  here,"  said  the  wife,  "  I  thought 
they  were  proud  and  stiff;  but  they  were  real  good  neigh- 
bors, and  I  heard  after  they  were  good  church  folks  too. " 

"  Well,  "  said  he,  "  I  mean  to  go  to  church  to-morrow, 
and  see  if  I  can't  hear  some  singin'  like  that.  " 

The  singer  knew  that  her  neighbors  were  ignorant, 
rough,  and  unbelieving,  nearing  the  decline  of  life,  and 
unwilling  to  be  approached  on  the  subject  of  religion. 

One  glorious  summer  evening,  as  the  sun  was  going 
down,  the  lady  seated  herself  at  the  window,  and  invol- 
untarily tuned  her  voice  to  sing.  When  near  the  close  of 
the  hymn,  she  cast  her  eyes  to  the  field  where  her  neigh- 
bor was  at  work,  and  saw  that  he  was  listening  intently. 
Instantly  the  thought  flashed  into  her  mind,  "Oh,  if  I 
could  raise  that  poor  man  to  think  of  heaven.  "  She  clos- 
ed her  refrain,  and  then  commenced, 

"  On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand,  " 

singing  it  "  with  the  spirit  and  the  understanding  also.  " 
And  as  she  sang,  the  old  man  listened,  almost  spell- 
bound. The  singer  wished  to  glorify  God  by  leading 
one  of  His  creatures  to  think  of  Him.  *'  I  will  sing  God's 
praises  whenever  he  can  hear  me,  and  perhaps  he  may 
be  led  to  praise  the  Lord  himself,  "  was  her    resolve. 

The  next  Lord's-day  the  old  man  was  at  church.  This 
cheered  the  lady,  and  she  said,  "  I  will  sing  whenever  he 


Singing  to  save  souls.  375 


comes. "  Ere  another  week  was  closed  he  was  at  work 
again.  This  time  she  sang, 

"  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 

But  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me.  " 

Slowly,  but  distinctly  she  sang,  that  he  might  take  in 
the  full  meaning  of  the  words,  and  feeling  their  sweet 
pathos  in  her  inmost  soul  she  sang  the  hymn.  The  listen- 
er shook  his  head,  and  rubbed  his  hand  quickly  over 
his  eyes. 

The  next  Lord's-day  evening  he  was  among  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  earnestly  inquiring  the  way  of  salvation. 

Beino;  thus  successful  in  bringing  the  husband  in  the 
v>'ay  of  life,  the  singer  next  tried  to  draw  the  wife,  and 
so  one  day  invited  her  into  the  parlor  to  hear  her  piano. 
She  had  never  seen  or  heard  such  an  instrument,  and  was 
wonderstruck.  The  lady  called  her  daughters  to  her  side, 
and  all  joined  in  singing,  "  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus' 
name, "  to  the  old  tune,  "  Coronation. " 

"  Do  you  like  that  ? '"  said  the  lady. 

"  Oh,  it's  nice.  I  b'l'eve  I  heered  that  tune  somewhere 
when  I  was  a  girl,  but  I've  forgot. " 

''Probably  you  heard  it  at  church.  It  is  often  sung 
there.  We  cannot  sing  the  praises  of  Jesus  too  often,  for 
He  came  to  save  us  poor  sinners.  "  Then  they  all  sang, 
"  Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast,"  etc.  When  the 
woman  rose  to  go,  she  was  invited  to  "  Come  again. 
"Oh,  I'll  come  often  if  I  can  hear  you  sing.  " 

"  Mother,  you  take  a  strange  way  to  win  souls?  " 

"  Why  not,  my  daughter  ?  Has  not  God  commanded 
that  whatsoever  we  do,  should  be  done  to  his  glory  ?  And 
if  He  has  given  us  voices  to  sing,  should  we  not  use  them 
in  his  service?  There  are  many  ears  that  will  listen  to  a 
hymn  for  the  sake  of  the  tune,  that  will  not  hear  a  word 
from  the  Bible.  Our  voices  and  our  musical  instruments 
should  all  be  employed  in  winning  lost  souls." 


r 


376  Hugh  StoweWs  hymn. 


C 


Appropriate  Hymns  amid  Chicago's  Fire. 

r^/|THEN  the  flames  seized  the  great  house  of  worship 
belonging  to  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Chicago, 
brethren,  wiio  had  labored  hard  to  save  it,  said, 
one  to  another,  "  Our  house  must  go,  but  let  us  have  one 
more  prayer  within  its  walls. "  And  they  bowed  before 
God  in  face  of  the  coming  flames,  while  one  who  had  been 
wont  to  lead  in  the  fire  and  thunder  of  battle,  led  the  cry 
of  these  faithful  heroes  before  the  mercy  seat.  Then,  ris- 
ing to  their  feet,  they  sang  as  they  retreated: — 
"  From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows, 

From  every  swelling  tide  of  woes, 
There  is  a  calm,  a  sure  retreat — 
■Tis  found  beneath  the  icercy-seat.  " 

The  pastor  of  the  New  England  Congregational  church 
says  that  at  the  time  when  they  were  most  afflicted  by 
the  loss  of  their  beautiful  edifice,  a  singular  circumstance 
became  known,  which  gieatly  cheered  and  encouraged 
them  to  put  forth  the  must  strenuous  efforts  lo  obtain  the 
necessary  means  to  rebuild.  It  seems  that  among  the 
debris  two  bits  of  printed  paper  were  found,  one  of  which 
proved  to  be  the  only  remaining  fragment  of  a  Bible, 
and  the  only  legible  portion  was  this  verso,  from  2nd 
Cor.  V.  1 :  "  For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of 
this  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of 
God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  e.ernal  in  the  heav- 
ens. "  The  other  Avas  a  scrap  from  the  hynui-book, 
upon  which  were  these  words  of  the  hymn,  No.  1180 
from    "  Songs  for  the    Sanctuary  :  " — 

"  Daughter  of  Zion  !  from  the  dust 

Exalt  thy  fallen    head  ; 
Again  in  thy  Redeemer  trust, 

He  calls  thee  from  the  dead. 
Rebuild  thy  walls,  thy  bounds  enlarge, 

And  send  thy  heralds  forth.  " 


Maria  Sanders. 


377 


"That  Sweet  Music." 

ARIA  Sanders  was  an  atten- 
tive Sabbath  school  scholar. 
She  was  thirteen  years  old  when 
she  lay  upon  her  death-bed. 
She  was  very  thoughtful  about 
relig-ious  thinofs  for  several  weeks 
before  she  was  taken  sick,  and 
/    h^     X>;^V^' V^     some  thought  she  had  become  a 

r-..J^^^f[i^     Christian. 

-i-:55<  <  iff '  .V   vW-J        During  the  first  week  of  her 

sickness  she  was  troubled  in  re- 
regard  to  her  hope  in  Christ.  But  on  Wednesday  it  be- 
came evident  that  she  could  not  recover,  and  her  father 
and  mother,  after  a  severe  struggle  alone  with  God,  were 
able  to  say,  "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the   Lord.  " 

When  they  returned  to  Maria's  room,  she  greeted  them 
with  a  happy  smile;  and  then,  as  if  talking  to  Jesus, 
said,  "Jesus,  I  can  trust  thee;  love  thee,  blessed  Jesus." 

A  little  later,  looking  upward,  she  said,  "Oh,  father, 
see  those  golden  stars. "  Upon  this  the  family  began  to 
weep  aloud.  "  !N^o\v  you  have  driven  them  all  away  a- 
gain.  "  They  hushed  their  crying,  when  she  said,  "  There, 
I  see  them  now. " 

It  was  the  "  Star  in  the  East"  that  heralded  the  birth 
of  Jesus,  who  is  "  the  Bright  and  ISIorning  Star ;  "  and 
might  not  the  bright  angels,  whom  Jesus  sends  to  take 
his  little  ones  home,  look  like  golden  stars'! 

A  few  hours  before  she  died,  she  said,  "  Oh,  hear  that 
siveet  music.  Don't  you  hear  it  ?  It  is  a  comfort  to  know 
they  will  not  get  done  singing  until  1  get  there.  "    w.  t.  s. 


r 


378  William  Tennent, 


Husic  Heard  While  in  a  Trance. 

Or  N  the  days  of  the  Revolution  lived  Rev.  William 
(^  Tennent,  who  was  pastor  of,  and  now  lies  buried  in 
the  Freehold  Presbyterian  Church  of  N.  J.  He  was 
a  most  faithful  and  successful  minister  in  his  day. 

His  name  is  widely  known  in  connection  with  his  ap- 
parent death.  For  three  days  he  remained  in  a  trance. 
He  had  been  ill  in  health,  and  emaciated  in  body  until 
his  life  was  despaired  of. 

One  morning  he  seemed  to  expire.  He  was  laid  out 
and  preparations  were  made  for  his  funeral.  The  body 
was  stiff  and  cold,  but  the  physician  thought  he  detected 
symptoms  of  life,  and  desired  a  postponement  of  the 
funeral.  His  brother  and  others  thought  there  were  no 
signs  of  life,  and  insisted  on  the  funeral.  The  doctor 
begged  again,  until  the  funeral  was  postponed.  The 
people  were  assembled  to  bury  him.  The  doctor  again, 
and  again  plead  for  a  postponement. 

At  length  Mr.  Tennent  opened  his  eyes,  gave  a 
dreadful  groan,  and  relapsed  again  into  apparent  death. 
This  movement  was  twice  repeated  after  an  interval  of  an 
hour,  when  life  permanently  remained,  and  the  patient 
slowly  recovered. 

He  was  totally  ignorant  of  every  transaction  of  his 
life  previous  to  his  sickness.  He  had  to  be  taught  read- 
ing, writing,  and  all  things  as  if  he  was  a  new  born  in- 
fant. At  length  he  felt  a  sudden  shock  in  his  head,  and 
from  that  moment  his  recollection  was  by  degrees  re- 
stored. These  circumstances  made  a  profound  impress- 
ion on  the  public  mind. 

Mr.  Tennent  has  left  on  record  the  account  of  his  feel- 
ings when  in  a  state  of  catalei>sy.  He  said,  "  While  I 
was  conversing  with  my  brother  on  the  state  of  my  soul, 
and  the  fears  I  had  entertained  of  my  future  welfore,  I 


C 


Tennent  continuea.  379 


found  myself  in  an  instant,  in  another  state  of  existence 
under  the  direction  of  a  Superior  being,  who  ordered  me 
to  follow  him.  I  was  accordingly  wafted  along,  I  knew 
not  how,  till  I  beheld  at  a  distance  an  ineffable  glory, 
the  impression  of  which  on  my  mind,  it  is  impossible  to 
communicate  to  mortal  man.  I  immediately  reflected  on 
my  happy  change,  and  thought,  'Well,  blessed  be  God! 
I  am  safe  at  last,  notwithstanding  all  my  fears. '  1  saw  an 
innumerible  host  of  happy  beings  surrounding  the  in- 
expressible glory,  in  acts  of  adoration,  and  joyous  wor- 
ship: but  I  did  not  see  any  bodily  shape  or  representa- 
tion in  the  glorious  appearance.  I  heard  things  unutterable. 
I  heard  their  songs  and  hallelujahs  of  thanksgiving  and 
praise  with  unspeakable  rapture.  I  felt  joy  unutterable 
and  full  of  glory.  I  then  applied  to  my  conductor,  and 
requested  leave  to  join  in  the  happy  throng ;  on  which 
he  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder  and  said,  'you  must  return 
to  the  earth.'  This  sounded  like  a  sword  through  my 
heart.  In  an  instant  I  recollected  to  have  seen  my  broth- 
er standing  before  me  disputing  with  the  doctor.  The 
three  days  during  which  I  appeared  to  be  lifeless,  seemed 
tome  about  ten  or  twenty  minutes.  The  idea  of  return- 
ing to  this  world  of  sorrow  and  trouble,  gave  me  such  a 
shock  that  I  fainted  repeatedly. " 

Mr.  Tennent  said  that  for  three  years,  the  ravishing 
sounds  he  had  heard,  and  the  words  that  were  uttered 
were  not  out  of  his  ears.  He  was  often  importuned  to  tell 
what  words  were  uttered,  but  declined,  saying,  "you  will 
know  them,  with  many  other  particulars,  hereafter,  as 
you  will  find  the  whole  among  my  papers."  But  they 
were  never  found. 

Tennent  died  on  the  8th  of  March  1774,  aged  71  years. 
Pastor  of  Freehold  church,  43  years  6  months. 

Elias  Boudenott  D.  D. 


580 


Augustus  Toplady. 


Author  of  "  Rock  of  Ages. " 

OCK  of  ages, "  was  written  by- 
Augustus  Toplady.  It  first  ap- 
peared March  1776,  in  the  "  Gos- 
pel Magazine,  "  which  he  edited. 
It  was  entitled,  "  A  Living 
and  Dying  Prayer  for  the  Holi- 
est Believer  in  the  World. " 

When  a  lad  of  16  years  of  age 
whileona  visit  to  Ireland  with 
his  widowed  mother,  he  strolled 
into  a  barn  where  an  earnest  un- 
educated layman  was  preaching 
on  the  text  "  ye  who  sometimes  were  afar  off,  are  made 
nigh    by  the  blood  of  Christ.  " 

Says  ]\Ir.  Toplady,  "Under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Mor- 
ris, that  dear  messenger  of  God,  and  under  that  sermon,  I 
was,  I  trust,  '  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ,'  in 
August  1756. 

Strange  that  I,  who  had  so  long  sat  under  the  means 
of  grace  in  England,  should  be  brought  nigh  unto  God 
in  an  obscure  part  of  Ireland,  amidst  a  handful  of  God's 
people,  met  together  in  a  barn,  and  under  the  ministry 
of  one,  who  could  hardly  spell  his  name." 

The  influence  of  that  barn  discourse  has  already  been 
felt  for  a  century,  and  is  now  echoing  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  for  through  it  was  converted  the  lad  who  gave  to 
the  Church  "  Rock  of  ages.  "  It  has  been  translated  and 
is  now  sung  in  almost  every  known  tongue. 

In  1768  he  entered  into  his  pastoral  work  at  Broad 
Henbury,  England.  As  a  preacher  he  is  thus  described, 
"  His  voice  was  music.  His  vivacity  would  have  caught 
the  listeners  eye ;  and  his  soul-filled  looks  and  movements 
would  have  interpreted  his  language,  had  there  not  been 


r 


AUGUSTUS  TOPLADY. 

A  FAC  SIMILE  OF  THE  LIKENESS  IN  THE  MAGAZINE 
FOR  WHICH  HE  WROTE   "ROCK  OF  AGES." 


Toplady  continued.  383 


such  commanding  solemnity  in  his  tones,  as  made  apathy 
impossible,  and  such  simplicity  in  his  words  that  to  hear 
was  to  understand. 

From  easy  explanations,  he  advanced  to  rapid  and  con- 
clusive arguments,  and  warmed  into  importune  exhor- 
ations,  till  conscience  began  to  burn,  and  feelings  to  take 
fire  from   his  own  kindled  spirit,  and  himself  and  his 
hearers  were  together  drowned  in  sympathetic  tears.  " 

He  seemed  to  live  in  the  clear  sunshine  of  the  Saviour's 
countenance.  He  frequently  called  himself  "  the  happiest 
man  in  the  world.  " 

His  death  couch  seemed  to  be  flooded  with  the  sun- 
beams of  the  glory-land.  Said  he  with  sparkling  eye,  "  I 
cannot  tell  the  comforts  I  feel  in  my  soul :  they  are  past 
expression.  The  consolations  of  God  are  so  abundant, 
that  he  leaves  me  nothing  to  pray  for;  my  prayers  are  all 
converted  into  praise.      I  enjoy  a  heaven  already  in  my 

soul."  1    />    J. 

As  he  drew  near  his  departure  from  earth  findmg  his 
pulse  getting  weaker  and  weaker  he  said  "  why  that  is  a 
good  sign  tlmt  my  death  is  fast  approaching ;  and  blessed 
be  God,  I  can  add,  that  my  heart  beats  everyday,  strong- 
er and  stronger  for  glory.  "  Just  before  his  death,  burst- 
ino-  into  tears  of  joy  he  exclaimed,  "  It  will  not  be  long 
before  God  takes  me ;  for  no  mortal  can  live  after  the 
glories  which  God  has  manifested  to  my  soul.  " 

Thus  he  passed  away  in  the   thirty-eighth  year  of  his 
age,  realizing  the    import    of  his    words, 
"  When  I  rise  to  worlds  unknown, 
And  behold  thee  on  thy  throne, 
Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me  ! 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee." 


r 


384  Toplady^s  hymn. 


Alterations  in  "  Rock  of  Ages. " 

tT  is  unfortunate  that  a  hymn  so  oflen  used,  should 
appear  in  so  many  various  forms.  The  different  ver- 
sions we  give  herewitli  are  taken  from  "  Hymns  and 
Choirs. " 

We  will  give  first  the  lines  of  the  original  of  Toplady, 
and  then  the  different  alterations  made. 

Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 

Altered  thus: 

Bock  of  ages,  shelter  me. 

From  thy  riven  side  which  flowed 

Altered  thus: 

From  thj  wounded  side  which  flowed. 

From  thy  side  a  healing  flood. 

Be  of  sin  the  double  cure, 

Cleanse  me  from  its  guilt  and  power, 

Altered  thus : 

Be  of  sin  and  fear  the  cure, 

Save  from  wrath  and  make  me  pure. 

Be  of  sin  the  perfect  cure, 

Save  me,  Lord,  and  make  me  pure. 

Clease  from  guilt  and  grace  ensure, 

Could  my  zeal  no  respite  know. 
Could  my  tears  forever  flow. 
All  for  sin  could  not  atone, 

Altered  thus : 

Should  my  zeal  no  languor  know 
Should  my  tears  forever  flow, 
This  for  sin  could  not  atone. 

May  my  zeal  no  respite  know; 
May  my  heart  with  love  o'erflow. 
But  can  this  for  sin  atone  ? 


Toplady's  hymn.  385 


This  for  sin  could  ne'er  atone. 
This  for  sin  could  not  atone. 

Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring, 

Altered  thus  : 

In  my  hand  no  price  I  bring. 

Foul,  I  to  thy  fountain  fly, 

Altered  thus : 

Vile  I  to  the  fountain  fly. 

When  my  eye-strings  break  in  death, 

Altered  thus : 

When  my  heart-strings  break  in  death. 
When  my  eyelids  sink  in  death. 
When  my  eyelids  close  in  death. 

When  I  soar  to  -worlds  unknown, 
See  thee  on  thy  judgment  throne, 

Altered  thus : 

When  I  soar  though  tracks   unknown. 
When  I  rise  to  worlds  unknown, 
And  behold  thee  on  thy  throne. 


MOPLADY  himself  altered  the  hymns  of  others  with- 
er out  always  adding  to  their  improvement. 

The  second  verse  of  the  hymn  of  Dr.   Watts, — 
"  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross,  " 
was   originally  written  thus: — 

"  Forbid  it,  Lord,  that  I  should  boast, 
Save  in  the  death  of  Christ,  my  God  ; 
All  the  vain  things  that  charm  me  most 
I  sacrifice  them  to  His  blood." 

Toplady  changed  it  to  read  thus : — 

"  Forbid,  0  Lord,   that  I  should  boast 
Save  in  the  death  of  Christ  my  God : 
I  have,  and  wish  to  have,  no  trust 
But  in  his  righteousness  and  blood.  " 


386  Toplady^s  hymn  illustrated. 


A  Babe  Hid  in  the  Cleft  of  a  Rock. 


^  HIGHLAND  mother  was  suddenly  overtaken  by  a 
•^  storm  in  the  mountains  of  Switzerland. 

"After  attempting  in  vain  for  some  time,"  says 
Dr.  Macduif,  "  with  her  infant  in  her  arms,  to  buiFet  the 
whirling  eddies,  she  laid  the  child  down  among  heather 
and  ferns,  in  the  deep  cleft  of  a  rock,  with  the  brave 
resolve,  if  possible,  to  make  her  own  way  home  through 
the  driving  sleet,  and  obtain,  succor  for  her  little  one. 
She  was  found  by  the  anxious  neighbors  next  morning 
stretched  cold  and  stiff  on  a  snowy  shroud.  But  the 
cries  of  the  babe  directed  them  to  the  rock-crevice,  where 
it  lay,  all  unconscious  of  its  danger,  and  from  which  it 
was  rescued  in  safety. 

"Many  long  years  afterwards  that  child  returned  from 
distant  lands  a  disabled  soldier,  covered  with  honorable 
wounds.  The  first  Sabbath  of  his  home-coming,  on  re- 
pairing to  a  city  church,  where  he  had  the  opportunity 
of  worshipping  God  'after  the  manner'  and  in  the  cher- 
ished language  of  his  forefathers,  be  listened  to  an  aged 
clergyman  unfolding,  in  Celtic  accents,  the  story  of  re- 
deeming love.  Strange  to  say,  that  clergyman  happened 
to  be  from  the  same  Highland  glen  wheie  he  himself  had 
spent  his  youth.  Stranger  still,  he  was  illustrating  the 
divine  tale  with  the  anecdote,  to  him  so  familiar,  of  the 
widow  and  the  saved  child. 

"A  few  days  afterwards,  that  pastor  was  called  to  visit 
the  death-bed  of  the  old  soldier.  'I  am  the  son  of  the 
widow,'  were  the  words  which  greeted  the  former  as  he 
stood  by  the  couch  of  the  dying  man.  'Lay  my  bones 
besides  hers  in  the  churchyard  among  the  hills.  The 
prayers  she  offered  for  me  have  been  answered.  I  have 
found  deliverance  in  old  age  where  I  found  it  in  child- 
hood, in  the  cleft  of  the  rock ;  but  it  is  the  Rock  of  Ages !'" 

c'  =:g)j 


Toplady's  hymn  illustrated.  387 


A  Man  Saved  by  a  Cleft  in  a  Rock. 

tNE  morning  a  village,  along  that  part  of  the  Pacific 
that  forms  one  of  the  new  boundaries  of  New  South 
Wales,  was  thrown  into  consternation  by  tidings  that 
fragments  of  a  wreck  were  floating  about  the  harbor,  some 
with  the  name  "Dunbar"  upon  them.  A  passenger- 
vessel  of  that  name  was  due.  Steamers  were  at  once 
despatched  to  the  Heads,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that 
an  awful  shipwreck  had  occurred,  and  that  probably  every 
one  on  board  had  perished.  The  excitement  in  the  city 
was  intense;  only  they  who  have  been  witnesses  of  a  like 
calamity  can  understand  what  a  thrill  of  anguish  was- 
sent  through  the  nerves  of  a  small  community  like  that, 
by  the  loss  of  fifty  well-known  individuals.  The  day 
was  spent  in  securing  the  cargo  and  collecting  the  mu- 
tilated remains  of  those  who  had  been  so  suddenly  snatched 
away,  which  lay  scattered  among  the  rocks  in  every  di- 
rection. Not  one,  apparently,  survived  to  tell  the  history 
of  the  disaster.  ^ 

On  the  day  following  it  was  noised  abroad  that  a 
voice  had  been  heard  in  the  rocks,  and  measures  were  at 
once  taken  to  g-ive  them  a  thoroutrh  examination.  From 
the  vessels  and  boats  near  the  spot,  the  rocks  were  scanned 
with  eager  eyes;  men  were  let  down  by  ropes,  and  one 
poor  fellow  was  at  last  found,  almost  lifeless,  half-way 
between  the  surface  and  the  water,  in  a  cleft  of  rock. 

From  his  evidence  at  the  inquest,  it  appeared  that  the 
vessel,  unable  to  make  the  harbor,  had  drifted  helplessly 
upon  the  rocks.  The  sea  closed  upon  the  ship  and  pas- 
sengers, and  in  less  than  five  minutes  all  was  over.  He 
had  been  lifted  by  a  wave  into  his  place  of  security. 

The  cleft  of  that  rock  illustrates  the  sentiments  of 

"  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 

'  Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee.  "  I 


>88  Toplndy's  hymn  illustrated. 


C 


Singing  of  "  Rock  Of  Ages. 


"  Dr.  Pomeroy  entered  a  church  at  Constantinople, 
where  a  company  of  Armenians  were  singing  a  hymn 
which  caused  the  tears  to  stream  from  the  eyes. 

He  inquired  what  they  were  singing  !  A  man  present 
translated  the  words  and  lo !  they  were  the  dear  old 
lines  of  Rock  of  ages.  " 

"When  Prince  Albert,  the  husband  of  the  Queen  of 
England,  was  leaving  this  world  his  dying  breath  was 
heard  whispering    the  sweet  words  of 

"Rock  of  ages  cleft  forme." 

"Thus  "  says  Dr.Cuyler  "  it  came  to  pass  that  the  dy- 
ing prince  laid  hold  of  those  precious  thoughts  which 
had  their  root  in  the  rude  discourse  of  an  obscure  Christ- 
ian layman  in  an  Irish  barn.  " 

On  how  many  hearts  have  the  undying  lines  been  im- 
pressed that  have  been  chiseled  in  marble  on  a  nionu- 
ment  in  Greenwood  Cemetery.  They  are  found  under 
a  statue  rej)resenting  faith  kneeling  before  tlie  cross. 

"Nothing  in  my  hands  I  bring 
Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling.  " 

The  Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng  D.  D.  says,  that  when 
his  son  the  Rev.  Dudley  Tyng.  was  approaching  the 
Jordan  of  death  just  after  he  had  spoken  those  ever 
memorable  words  "  Stand  up  for  Jesus — "  he  aroused 
from  the  sleep  of  death,  and  said  to  those  in  tears  by  his 
bed  side,  "  Sing,  Can  you  not  sing  ? ''  "  We  hesitated. 
It  was  impossible.  When  he  himself  began  to  sing 
"  Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me.  " 

And  we  sang  together  two  verses  of  that  hymn,  he 
and  his  wife  louder  than  any  of  us.  He  could  sing  no 
more — no  more  could  we. " 


^ 


Topladifs  hymn  illustrated.  389 

"Rock  of  Ages." 

%^  W.,  in  the  American  Messenger,  furnishes  the  fol- 
*^*  k)wing : — 

"  'T  was  a  sultiy  day  in  June.  The  scorching 
beams  of  the  noonday  sun  came  slanting  througli  the 
broad  uncurtained  windows,  falling  directly  on  the  ope- 
rators and  sewing-girls  ranged  along  the  room,  making 
their  heads  throb  and  ache  almost  to  bursting.  Wearily 
the  machines  turned,  and  the  tired  eyes  of  the  girls  glanced 
now  and  then  at  the  clock  noting  the  moments  as  they 
dragged  heavily  by. 

"  The  calls  on  the  ice-cooler  had  been  frequent  that 
morning,  and  now  at  one  o'clock  the  Avater  was  spent. 
One  after  another  had  gone  to  it,  expecting  to  get  a  cool- 
ing drink,  but  had  turned  away  disappointed.  The 
merry  song  was  hushed,  the  laughing  jests  were  dropped, 
and  tired  hands  toiled  on,  longing  for  the  close  of  the 
day,  that  they  might  find  rest  and  water. 

"Suddenly  in  the  deep  hush,  came  the  sweet,  low  voice 
of  an  operator,  singing, 

"  '  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee. 

One  after  another  joined  in,  forgetting  their  burning 
thirst,  until  the  whole  fifty  girls  were  singing.  Grandly 
the  closing  stanza  rang  out, 

"  '  While  I  draw  this  fleeting  breath, 
When  my  heartstrings  break  in  death, 
When  I  soar  to  worlds  unknown, 
See  thee  on  thy  judgment-throne. 
Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me. 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee. ' 

No  more  sadness,  no  more  weary  looks  or  anxious  glances 
towards  the  clock.  Hymn  after  hymn  was  sung,  and 
almost  too  soon  came  the  six  o'clock  bell.  " 

r  si 


390 


Toplady''s  hymn. 


"Rock  of  Ages"  Floating  over  a  Field  of  Death. 

MINISTER  in  Wales  gave  a 
friend  the  following  account  of 
his  conversion  after  the  battle 
of  Alma,  during  the  Crimean 
war,  in  which  he  was  engaged 
as  a  soldier. 

"  I  had,"  said  he,  "gone  down 
a  hill  to  get  some  water.  In 
consequence  of  the  number  of 
my  fellow-men  lying  dead  on 
the  lield,  the  water  there  was 
not  fit  to  drink,  so  I  had  to  go  a  long  way  to  get  some. 

"  After  getting  all  I  required  I  retraced  my  steps  to 
the  camp.  As  I  stepped  over  the  bodies  now  stiff  and 
cold  in  death,  my  thoughts  wandered  to  those  families 
in  England,  who  were  deprived  of  a  father,  husband  or 
brother,  when  all  at  once  the  sound  of  singing  floated  in 
the  air.  I  drew  near  to  the  place  and  found  a  company 
of  soldiers  singing  in  the  Welsh  language.  In  the  midst 
of  them  was  a  soldier  whose  sands  of  life  were  nearly 
gone,  and  he  had  requested  his  comrades  to  sing : — 


-m? 


"  '  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me.' 
"When  they  sang  the  last  verse, 

"'While  I  draw  this  fleeting  breath, 
When  my  eyelids  close  in  death, ' 

he  lifted  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  faintly  exclaimed,  "Sing 
it  again."  They  did  so.  But  before  they  had  finished 
it,  his  soul  left  the  tenement  of  clay  for  the  home  above. 
"  The  solemn  scene  had  such  an  effect  on  me  that  I 
began  to  seek  the  way  of  salvation,  and  am  now  what 
you  see  me,  a  minister  of  the  gospel. " 


C 


Toplady^s  hymn  illustrated,  391 


"Rock  of  Ages"  Drowning  Rowdy  Songs. 

fT  the  commencement  of  a  two  weeks'  course  of  "Il- 
lustrated Sermons"  in  the  Calvary  Church,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  January,  1870,  we  were  much  impressed 
by  the  prayer  of  a  ministerial  brother,  who  begged  for  two 
hundred  souls,  as  the  fruit  of  that  special  eifort.  We 
soon  found  in  it  an  exemplification  of  the  promise,  "Open 
thy  mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it." 

At  the  close  of  each  sermon,  a  service  M-as  held  for  the 
special  benefit  of  those  who  were  penitent.  Soon  the 
luimber  became  so  great,  that  sixteen  of  the  front  pews 
were  reserved  for  such,  and  so  great  was  the  anxiety  to 
press  forward  to  occupy  those  seats,  that  men  had  to  be 
stationed  in  each  aisle,  to  prevent  the  rush  from  occa- 
sioning any  accident.  Never  shall  we  forget  the  sound 
of  that  church  echo,  when  about  a  hundred  persons  would 
rise  simultaneously  to  their  feet,  and  hasten  to  secure  a 
place  among  those  who  were  clustering  around  the  cross. 

The  subject  one  evening  being  "The  Prodigal  Son," 
the  illustrations  served  to  draw  in  from  the  streets  a 
wanderer,  who,  unable  to  secure  one  of  the  front  seats, 
at  the  close  of  the  sermon  dropj)ed  down  upon  bended 
knees  in  the  aisle.  An  evening  or  two  later,  as  he  arose  to 
testify  how  he  had  been  plucked  as  a  brand  from  the 
burning,  he  remarked  that  he  found  great  difficulty  in 
drowning  the  echo  of  the  rowdy  songs  he  had  been  ac- 
customed to  sing.  "  But, "  says  he,  "  I  have  succeeded 
by  singing,  '  Rock  of  ages, '  and  to-day  I  have  been  kept 
busy  in  singing  '  Rock  of  ages, '  from  morning  till  night. " 

By  the  close  of  the  two  weeks,  the  pastor  received  the 
names  of  two  hundred  and  eight  souls,  who  were  induced 
to  seek  salvation.  The  brotlier's  prayer  thus  was  more  than 
answered,  and  we  had  a  fresh  illustration  of  the  text, 
"  According  to  your  faith  be  it  unto  you.  " 

r  ~  g)/ 


392  Toplady^s  hymn  iUusti^ated. 


Clinging  Close  to  the  Eock. 


fASST  !S'G  over  the  Alleghany  Mountains  was  a  long 
train  of  cars  on  its  way  eastward.  It  was  crowded 
with  passengers.  As  the  iron  horse  snorted  and 
rushed  on,  they  began  to  feel  that  i'  had  begun  to  descend, 
and  needed  no  power  but  the  invisible  power  of  gravita- 
tion to  S3nd  them  down  with  terrific  swiftness.  Just  as 
the  passengers  began  to  realize  their  situation  they  came 
to  a  short  curve  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock — a  wall  of  rock 
lying  on  each  side.  Suddenly  the  steam  whistle  scream- 
ed as  if  in  agony,  "  Put  on  the  brakes  !  put  on  the  brakes ! " 

Up  pressed  the  brakes,  but  with  no  apparent  slacking 
of  the  cars.  Every  window  flew  open,  and  every  head 
that  could  be  was  thrust  out  to  see  what  the  danger  was, 
and  every  one  rose  up  in  his  place,  fearing  sudden  de- 
struction.    What  was  the  trouble  ? 

Just  as  the  engine  began  to  turn  in  the  curve  the 
engineer  saw  a  little  girl  and  her  baby  brother  playing 
on  the  track.  In  a  moment  the  cars  would  be  on  them ; 
the  shriek  of  the  whistle  startled  the  little  girl,  and  every 
one  looking  over  could  see  them.  Close  to  the  rail,  in 
the  upright  rock,  was  a  little  niche,  out  of  which  a  piece 
of  rock  had  been  blasted.  In  an  instant  the  baby  was 
thrust  into  this  niche,  and  as  the  cars  came  thundering 
by,  the  passengers,  holding  their  breath,  heard  the  clear 
voice  of  the  little  sister  on  the  other  side  of  the  cars,  ring 
out,  "  Cling  close  to  the  rock,  Johnny  !  cling  close  to  the 
rock  !  "  And  the  little  creature  snuggled  in,  and  put 
his  hoad  as  close  to  the  corner  of  the  rock  as  possible, 
while  the  heavy  cars  whirred  past  him. 

And  many  were  the   moist  eyes   that  gazed,  a    silent 
thanksgiving  went  up  to  him  who  is  the 
"Rock  of  ages  cleft  for  me." 


c 


Toplady's  hymn  illustrated.  393 


"  That  Is   My   Hope.  " 


twas  at  the  death-bed,  not  long  ago,  of  a  man  who  for 
many  years  had  been  living  a  life  of  proiligacy. 
For  years  his  friends  knew  nothing  of  him,  but  at  last 
the  hand  of  disease  was  laid  upon  him,  and  then  he 
sought  for  home.  His  friends  received  him,  attended 
him  with  all  kindness,  and  as  he  lay  in  that  sick-bed 
Jesus  came  knocking  again  at  the  door  of  his  heart,  and 
he  was  received  in.  A  few  days  before  his  death,  I  ask- 
ed on  what  his  hope  was  resting.  He  stretched  foi-th 
his  hand  for  a  hymn  book,  and  with  his  long,  pale,  wast- 
ed fingers,  turned  over  its  leaves,  and  then  handing  it  to 
me,  pointing  to  one  of  the  hymns,  he  said,  ''that  is  my 
hope  " —  "  Mock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me.  " 

The  Clefts  in  the  Rock. 


^^N  unbeliever  was  shown  the  clefts  in  the  rock  of 
<^  Mount  Calvary.  Examining  them  critically,  he  turn- 
ed in  amazement  to  his  fellow  travellers  and  said,  "I 
have  long  been  a  student  of  nature,  and  I  am  sure  the 
clefts  and  rents  in  this  rock  were  never  done  by  nature, 
or  an  ordinary  earthquake ;  for  by  such  a  concussion,  the 
rock  must  have  split  according  to  the  veins  and  where  it 
was  weakest  in  the  adhesion  of  parts:  for  this,  I  have 
observed  to  have  been  done  in  other  rocks  when  separat- 
ed or  broken  after  an  earthquake,  and  reason  tells  me 
it  must  always  be  so. 

But  it  is  quite  otherwise  here;  for  the  rock  is  rent  a- 
thwart  and  across  the  veins,  in  a  most  strange  and  preter- 
natural manner ;  and  therefore,  "  said  he,  "  I  thank  God 
that  I  came  hither  to  see  the  standing  monument  of  mirac- 
ulous power  by  which  God  gives  evidence  to  this  day  of 
the  Divinity  of  Christ.  " 


r 


394  Toplady\  hymn  illustrated. 


"  Thou  must  save,  and  Thou  alone.  " 

fHE  following  extracts,  taken  from  children's  letters, 
will  illustrate  this  line  in  "  Rock  of  Ages, "  and  also 
how  much  a  sinner  needs  a  Saviour's  help. 

(WG  ui*J  )La  A,\ui,I\,      9   anv   U\<J    a,«a)0>\)   xjaaI)     jca5«!v)    aajxxi>.     xiIjvYveit). 
q)  t\A.v  la  Jcuc)    «c.j(s<i)  •.  fmh  9  Y^xJA.*,,  Xiwls  )unjt/vv  \\A«)i)[a.i  msxwvv;    S  lx)\a«lu 

MAQfvv  lo\)   fm«)  V      9  xjft'M^     oIx^Axij    a  )U.v;«J     M-ul    AAioAAxi)   ]t«ixi)    /wvw/clv-^. 

)ft\«aK  «>«.  xiU)    AiAoLc.w.  tJcm  ^    aicuw)    Uxxm    lo\i     )w*'^ ' 

"91  9  i\aa\  wil  Uxd  iwicAwxyuv^  9  mjaAa)  Ik)  aooA),  )t«=x\xia\, _ _ 
a\^  ixtiviiW  9  MxjAtliuQ  xsxW  xic/i«m)  _J>laAAi,  lixIxAje)  9  ionA)  (m  xiX^.K 
AM<iA<i__.    9  MxiJUxJ  l\Ax:d  i>ft  xiUxm)   Xa  hx.  xjojoxij  JLuX  xiM«.o)ui,  LamxJu,    __ 

'^9  IvLguaxI]  aak«  io,  Ai«  XX  xiaaxll  Ai<5i,\i  mwW  9  Lximt)  Ao  nrtAxxmA.K?  ]t«m^M=: 

xitACiMW*.    &aA^  Aix^iXib.  )t«ivv\w)    ft'»-vx).  javw__  /mA.0   aloxI)    IiytxiJOi . 

9  xicij\iM    xviti)    x»l>I««W  /am\<J    ft^ieAcJ  Am)  x:v-vwX«)l\^.     dXxwA.)    IcjO    mix^. 

"  ^«<iX  Q)A?i ; __G)<ym<;1iAJWwi.)     9   aim  aeioA)    IftA  xjaixsaaW    U\\x.iv    AAimcJx) 

WHM  9     xi«10   Kjxal    xixinAw  •.  mv^  9  x:ximmoW   I\<:aW    aIL-^. 
aaoaa)    m,ai\\    lo\)-    iwui-^        


r  g)/ 


A  new  version  of  ''Rock  of  AgesJ^  395 


Rock  of  Ages,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ray  Palmer. 

From  "  Evenings  with  the    Sacred  Poets.  " 


0  Rock  of  Ages!  since  on  Thee 

By  grace  my  fee:  are  planted, 
'Tis  mine  in   tranquil  faith,  to  see 

The  rising  s.orm,   unda'inted; 
When  angry  billows  round  iiiC  rave, 

And  tempests  fierce  assail  me. 
To  thee  I  cling,  the  terrors  brave, 

For  Thou  canst  never  fail  me; 
Though  rends  the  globe  with  earthquake  shock, 
Unmoved  Thou  staud'st,  Eternal  Rock! 

Within  Thy  clefts  I  love  to  hide, 

When  darkness  o'er  me  closes; 
Ther3  p  ace  and  light  serene  abiie, 

And  my  still    hevrt  reposes  ; 
My  soul  exults  to  dwell  secure 

Thy  strong  munitions  round  her; 
She  dares  to  count  her  triumph  sure, 

Nor  fears  lest  hell  confound  her  ; 
Though  turoults  startle  earth  and  sea. 
Thou  changeless  Rock,  they  shake  not  Thee  I 

From  Thee,  0  rock  once  smitten  !  flow 

Life-giving  streams  for  ever; 
And  whoso  doth  their  sweetness  know, 

He  henceforth  thirsteth  never; 
My  lips  have  touched  the  crystal  tide, 

And  feel  no  more  returning 
The  fever,  that  so  long  [  tried 

To  cool,  yet  felt  still  burning; 
Ah,  wondrous  Weil-Spring!  brimming  o'er 
With  living  waters  evermore. 

On  that  dread  day  when  they  that  sleep 

Shall  hear  the  trumpet  sounding, 
And  w;ike  to  praise,  or  wake  to  weep, 

The  judgmeit-throne  surrounding; 
When  wrapt  in  all-devouring  flame, 

The  solid  globe  is  wasting, 
And  what  at  first  from  nothing  came 

Is  back  to  nothing  hasting  ; 
E'en  then,  my  soul  shall  calmly  rest, 
0  Rock  of  Ages  !  on  Thy  breast. 


396  Early  life  of  Watts. 


^- 


Rev.  Isaac  Watts  D.  P. 

fATTS,  the  author  of  many  of  the  hymns  contained 
in  the  Church  hymn  books  of  our  day,  was  born 
in  Southampton,  England,  on  the  17th  of  July, 
1674. 

His  father  kept  a  flourishing  boarding-school  in  tliat 
town,  which  was  hekl  in  such  liigh  repute  that  students 
were  sent  to  it  from  America  and  the  West  Indies.  He 
was  au  earnest  Christian,  a  deacon  of  the  Independent 
or  Congregational  church.  Soon  after  the  birth  of  Isaac, 
their  first  born  child,  the  father  was  imprisoned  in  the 
South-Castle  Jail,  because  of  his  non-conformity. 

The  mother,  in  her  afiiiction,  is  said  to  have  often 
seated  herself  on  a  stone  near  the  prison  door,  with  the 
poet,  then  an  infant  "suckling  at  her  breast,"  and  at 
times,  to  liave  *'  lifted  him  up  to  the  cell  window  to  com- 
fort the  father  in  bonds." 

His  precocious  intellect  soon  began  to  show  itself.  Be- 
fore he  could  s])eak  plainly,  when  money  was  given  him 
he  would  say,   "A  book!  a  book!  buy  a  book" 

In  his  fourtli  year  he  began  the  study  of  Latin ;  in  his 
ninth,  the  study  of  Greek ;  in  his  tenth,  the  study  of 
French;  and  in  his  thirteenth,  the  study  of  Hebrew. 

During  the  play-hours  in  his  father's  school,  his  mo- 
ther promised  a  copper-medal  to  those  of  the  pupils  who 
would  construct  the  best  verses,  when  little  Isaac,  but 
some  seven  years  of  age  produced  the  couplet: — 

"  I  write  not  for  your  farthing,  but  to  try 
How  I  your  farthing-writers  can  outvie.  " 

His  piety  ^vas  very  early  manifested.  Well  could  he 
adopt  the  beautiful  language  of  Mrs.  Rowe: — "My  in- 
fant hands  Mere  early  lifted  up  to  Thee,  and  I  soon 
learned  to  know  and  acknowledge  the  God  of  my  fath- 
ers. " 


ABNEY  HOUSE    WHERE    WATTS    LIVED   AXD    DIED. 


The  home  of  Waits.  299 


r 


In  1698,  on  his  birthday,  when  just  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  he  preached  his  first  sermon,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  chosen  assistant  pastor  of  the  Independent 
Church,  Mark  Lane,  London,  and  in  1702,  became  its 
sole  pastor. 

On  account  of  his  feeble  health  his  people  provided 
him  with  an  assistant,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Price.  Though 
an  invalid.  Dr.  Watts  served  his  clun-ch  for  nearly  fifty 
years.  Often  his  exertions  in  the  pulpit  were  followed 
by  such  Aveakness  and  pain  that  he  was  obliged  to  re- 
tire immediately  to  bed  and  have  his  room  closed  in 
darkness  and  silence. 

Invited  by  Sir  Thomas  Abney  in  1712  to  visit  his 
mansion  at  Theobalds,  for  a  change  of  air,  he  gladly 
complied.     It  became  his  home  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

A  lady  calling  to  see  him  one  day.  Dr.  Watts  said: 
"Madam,  your  ladyship  is  come  to  see  me  on  a  very 
remarkable  day.  This  very  day,  thirty  years  ago,  I  came 
to  the  house  of  my  good  friend.  Sir  Thomas  Abney,  in- 
tending to  spend  but  one  single  week  under  his  friendly 
roof,  and  I  have  extended  my  visit  to  his  family  to  the 
length  of  exactly  thirty  years. " 

Lady  Abney,  who  was  present,  immediately  replied, 
"  Sir,  what  you  term  a  long  thirty  years'  visit,  I  consid- 
er the  shortest  my  family  has  ever  received. " 

Soon  after  he  had  a  dangerous  illness,,  from  Avhich, 
after  a  long  confinement,  he  but  slowly  recovered. 

Dr.  Gibbons  says:  "Here  he  dwelt  in  a  family,  which, 
for  piety,  order,  harmony,  and  ever}^  virtue,  was  a  house 
of  God.  Here  he  had  the  privilege  of  a  country  recess, 
the  fragrant  bower,  the  spreading  lawn,  the- flowery  gar- 
den, and  other  advantages  to  soothe  his  mind,  and  aid  his 
restoration  to  health ;  to  yield  him,  whenever  he  chose 
them,  most  grateful  intervals  from  his  laborious  studies, 
and  to  return  to  them  with  redoubled  vigor  and  delight." 


400  Isaac  Watts. 


His  physical  frame  is  thus  described  by  his  biographer : 
*'  He  measured  only  about  five  feet  in  height,  and  was 
of  a  slender  form.  His  complexion  Avas  pale  and  fair, 
his  eyes  small  and  gray,  but  when  animated,  became 
piercing  and  expressive;  his  forehead  was  low,  his  cheek 
bones  rather  prominent;  but  his  countenance  was,  on  the 
whole,  by  no  means  disagreeable.  His  voice  was  pleas- 
ant, but  weak.  A  stranger  would,  probably,  have  been 
most  attracted  by  his  piercing  eye,  whose  very  glance 
was  able  to  command  attention  and  awe. " 

Being  at  a  hotel  with  some  friends,  some  one  made 
the  remark,  rather  contemptuously, —  "What!  is  that 
the  great  Dr.  Watts?"  As  this  was  unexpectedly  over- 
heard by  Dr.  Watts,  heat  once  replied,  as  he  turned 
towards  the  critic,  and  said : — 

"  Were  I  so  tall  to  reach  Ihe  pole, 
Or  grasp  the  ocean  ■with  my  span, 
I  must  lie  measured  by  my  soul, 

The  mind's  the  standard  of  the  man." 

The  apt  reply  is  said  to  have  produced  silent  admiration 
for  the  "great"  little  man. 

Dr  Gibbons  speaks  thus  of  his  mental  greatness: — 
"  Perhaps  very  few  of  the  descendents  of  Adam  have 
made  nearer  approaches  tc  angels  in  intellectual  powers 
and  divine  dispositions  than  Dr.  Watts;  and  among  the 
numerous  stars  which  have  adorned  the  hemisphere  of 
the  Christian  Church  he  has  shone  and  will  shine  an 
orb  of  the  first  magnitude. " 

Dr.  Johnson,  the  eminent  lexicographer,  gives  the 
following  estimate  of  his  capacity: — "Few  men,"  says 
he,  "have  left  behind  such  purity  of  character,  or  such 
monuments  of  laborious  piety.  He  has  provided  in- 
struction for  all  ages, — from  those  who  are  lisping  their 
first  lessons  to  the  enlightened  readers  of  Malebranche 
and  Locke." 

r'  -  ») 


SAACD     WATTS, 


Death  of  Watts.  403 


"  Not  Jordan's  stream,  nor  death's  cold  flood, 
Should  fright  us  from  the  shore.  " 

f^  ~ 

rtf,HIS  language  was  typical  of  the  experience  of  its 
^  author.  It  is  said  of  Watts,  "  Calmly  and  peacefully 
did  his  weary,  longing  spirit  leave  its  feeble  earthly 
tenement  and  wing  its  way  to  God. " 

Often  would  he  say ;  "  1  bless  God  I  can  lie  down  with 
comfort  at  night,  not  being  solicitous  whether  I  wake 
in  this  world  or  another. "     Before  his  departure,  he  said  : 

"It  is  good  to  say  as  Mr.  Baxter,  'What,  when,  and 
M^here  God  pleases. '  If  God  should  raise  me  up  again 
I  may  finish  some  more  of  my  papers,  or  God  can 
make  use  of  me  to  save  a  soul,  and  that  will  be  worth 

living  for It  is  a  great  mercy  to  me 

that  I  have  no  manner  of  fear  or  dread  of  death:  I  could 
if  God  please,  lay  my  head  back  and  die  without 
terror,  this  afternoon  or  night. " 

Being  "  worn  out  by  infirmities  and  labor,"  rather  than 
by  any  particular  disease,  he  simply  ceased  to  breathe  on 
the  25th  of  November,  1748,  in  the  75th  year  of  his  age. 

In  accordance  with  his  catholic  spirit,  and  his  ex- 
pressed wish,  his  body  was  conveyed  to  its  resting-place 
by  pall-bearers  that  consisted  of  two  ministers  from  each 
of  the  three  denominations. 

The  following  description  of  his  monument  is  given 
in  the  Sabbath  at  Home. 


%  MONUMENT  in  honor  of  Dr.  Watts  was  erected 
<^  some  years  ago  in  the  town  of  his  birth.  It  was 
the  product  of  public  subscription.  On  the  inaugu- 
ration-day, an  address  was  delivered  by  the  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury;  and  the  memorial  was  afterward  formally 
delivered  over  to  the  mayor  and  corporation  of  Southamp- 
ton.    The  monument,  sculptured  by  Mr.  R.  T.  Lucas, 


W 


404  Monument  of  Watts. 


stands  in  the  Western  Park.  It  has  an  entire  height  of 
nineteen  feet,  with  a  base  eight  and  a  half  feet  square. 
The  statue  represents  the  minister  of  religion  addressing 
his  congregation,  and  is  of  the  purest  white  Sicilian  mar- 
ble, about  eight  feet  high,  facing  the  south.  It  surmounts 
a  pedestal  of  fine  polished  gray  Aberdeen  granite,  which 
has  three  marble  basso-rilievos  on  the  sides.  One  on  th*e 
front  represents  the  teacher  instructing  a  beautiful  group 
of  children,  under  which  is  the  motto, — 

"  lie  prave  to  lisping  infancy  its  earliest  and  purest  lessons.'" 

The  youthful  poet  is  sculptured  on  the  west  side,  with 

upturned  glance;  and  underneath  is  his  own  descriptive 

line: — 

"To  heaven  I  lift  my  waiting  eyes." 

On  the  east  side,  Dr.  Watts  is  depicted  as  a  philosopher 
with  globe,  telescope,  hour-glass,  and  Dr.  Johnson's 
delineation  of  him : — 

"He  taught  the  art  of  reasoning  and  the  science  of  the  stars." 

On  the  north  side  is  a  marble  tablet,  Avith  an  inscrijition 
written  by  John  Bullar,  Esq: — 

A.  D.   18G1. 

Erected  by  Voluntary  Subscriptions, 

In  memory  of  Isaac  "VVfitts,  D.  D., 

A  native  of  Southampton. 

Bornl674;  died  1748. 

An  example  of  the  talents  of  a  large  and  liberal  mind,  wholly 
devoted  to  the  promotion  of  piety,  virtue,  and  literature. 

A  name  honored  for  his  sacred  hymns  wherever  the  English 
language  extends. 

Especially  the  friend  of  children  and  of  youth,  for  whose  best 
welfare  he  labored  well  and  wisely,  without  thought  of  fame  or 
gain. 

"  From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies 
Let  the  Creator's  praise  arise; 
Let  the  Redeemer's  name  be  sung, 
Through  every  land  by  every  tongue. " 
Watts.  ' 

r'  fel 


MONUMENT  OF  WATTS. 


IsaciG  Watts, 


407 


C 


How  Vain  are  All  Things  here  Below.  " 

EV.  DR.  WATTS  is  the  au- 
thor of  this  expressive  hymn. 
Dr.  Belcher  narrates  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  facts  as  to 
its  origin : — 

It  is  well  known  that  the 
worthy  doctor  lived  and  died 
a  bachelor.  The  cause  of  this 
seems  to  have  been  that  in  early 
life  he  met  with  a  severe  dis- 
appointment. 

Attracted  by  the  ptrsonal,  the  intellectual,  and  spirit- 
ual loviiness  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Singer,  afterward  the 
well-known  Mrs.  Rowe,  Isaac  Watts  tendered  to  her  his 
heart  and  his  hand,  and  was  unhappily  repulsed, — the 
lady  telling  him  that,  though  she  loved  the  jewel,  she 
could  not  admire  the  casket  which  contained  it.  Thus 
was  poor  Watts  treated,  as  were  others,  by  this  excellent 
but  surely  somewhat  capricious  lady,  whom  Mrs.  Bar- 
bauld  in  some  degree  taunted  when  she  said  to  her,  in 
the  language  of  high  conpliment, — 

"  Thynne,  Carteret,  Blackraore,  Orrery  approved, 
And  Prior  praised,  and  noble  Hertford  loved  : 
Seraphic  Ken  and  tuneful  Watts  were  ihine. 
And  Virtue's  noblest  champions  filled  the  line.  " 

Though  disappointed  and  grieved,  the  pious  poet  submit- 
ted to  what  he  considered  an  arrangement  of  Divine 
Providence,  and  then  wrote  the  hymn  to  which  we  have 
referred  the  beauty  of  which  both  the  Christian  and  the 
poet  will  admire.  Happy  the  man  who  could  at  such  a 
time  pray, 

"Dear  Saviour,  let  thy  beauties  be 
My  soul's  eternal  food." 


408  Watts^  hymn. 


C, 


Origin  of  "There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight." 

^/jIATTS,  it  is  said,  wrote  this  hymn  in  his  native 
^p)  town,  Southampton,  "  while  sitting  at  the  window 
of  a  parlor,  which  overlooked  the  river  Itchen,  and 
in  full  view  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  It  is  indeed  a  beautiful 
type  of  that  paradise  of  which  the  poet  sung.  It  rises 
from  the  margin  of  the  flood  and  swells  into  boundless 
prospect,  all  mantled  in  the  richest  verdure  of  summer, 
checkered  with  forest-growth  and  fruitful  fields  under 
the  highest  cultivation,  and  gardens,  and  villas,  and 
every  adornment  which  the  hand  of  man,  in  a  series  of 
ages,  could  create  on  such  susceptible  grounds.  As  the 
poet  looked  upon  the  waters  then  before  him,  he  thought 
of  the  final  passage  of  the  Christian : — 

"Death,  like  a  narrow  sea,  divides 
This  heavenly  land  from  ours. '' 


Origin  of  Watts'  First  Hymn. 

tT  can  be  easily  imagined  how  verses,  like  those  given 
on  another  page  ( 507 )  must  have  grated  on  the  sen- 
sitive ears  of  Watts.     It  was  to  him  like  the  sound 
of  the  file  in  sharpening  the  saw. 

When  giving  vent  to  his  wounded  feelings,  the  answer 
was,  "Give  us  something  better,  young  man." 

He  complied  with  the  request,  and  the  church  was 
invited  to  close  its  service  in  the  evening  with  the  fol- 
lowing new  hymn : — 

"Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb 
Amidst  His  Father's  throne  ; 
Prepare  new  honors  for  Ilis  name, 
And  songs  before  unknown.  " 

The  hymn  consisted  of  eight  verses,  and  \xas  the  first 
of  that  long  list  which  has  wreathed  his  name  with  im- 
mortal glory. 


Watts^  hymn.  409 


"  Give  nae  the  wingrs  of  faith  to  rise 
Within  tlie  vail,  and  see 
The  saints  above,  how  great  their  joj-s, 
How  bright  their  glories  be.  " 

tODDRIDGE  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Watts  an  account 
of  the  eifect  produced  by  the  singing  of  this,  his 
liymn,  soon  after  it  was  composed. 
Says  he:  "I  was  preaching  to  a  large  assembly  of 
])]ain  country  people  at  a  village,  when,  after  a  sermon 
from  Heb.  vi.  12,  we  sung  one  of  your  hymns,  *  *  *  * 
and  in  that  part  of  the  worship,  I  had  the  satisfaction  to 
observe  tears  in  the  eyes  of  several  of  the  people.  After 
the  service  was  over,  some  of  them  told  me  that  they 
were  not  able  to  sing,  so  deeply  were  their  minds  aifected; 
and  the  clerk  in  particular  said  he  could  hardly  utter  the 
words  as  he  gave  them  out."  This  hymn  is  said  to  be 
"one  of  the  finest  in  the  collection." 

Toplady,  the  author  of  Rock  of  ages,  longed  for  these — 

" wings  of  faith,  to  rise 


Within  the  vail- 


Said  he,  "O  how  this  soul  of  mine  longs  to  be  gone: 
like  an  imprisoned  bird,  it  longs  to  take  its  flight.  O 
that  I  had  the  wings  of  a  dove,  I  should  flee  away  to  the 
realms  of  bliss,  and  be  at  rest  for  ever.  I  long  to  be 
absent  from  the  body  and  present  with  the  Lord."  At 
another  time  he  said,  "  O  what  a  day  of  sunshine  has 
this  been  to  me.  I  have  no  words  to  express  it;  it  is 
unutterable.  O,  my  friends,  how  good  our  God  is. 
Almost  without  interruption  his  presence  has  been  with 
me."  Being  near  his  end,  having  awakened  out  of  sleep, 
he  said:  "O  what  delights:  who  can  fathom  the  joys  of 
the  third  heavens!"  And  just  before  he  expired,  he  said: 
"The  sky  is  clear;  there  is  no  cloud:  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly. " 

r  '  DJ 


410  Watts'  hymn. 


A  Heart  Broken  by  a  Kymn- 

tR.  Belcher  gives  the  following  narrative  as  furnished 
by  E.ev.  J.  Parker. 
I  was  seated  at  the  table  of  a  boarding  house,  kept 

by  Mrs.  F. ,  at  which  were  some  fifteen  guests.  One 

of  these  was  a  gentleman  full  of  animation,  and  whose 
vivacity  created  the  impression,  that  whoever  else  might 
be  affected  by  the  solemnities  of  the  time,  he  was  not. 

On  a  Sunday  morning,  Rev.  Dr.  Perrine  preached  an 
effective  sermon  on  the  consequences  of  a  life  of  sin.  Full 
of  unction  and  tenderness,  its  vivid  pictures  of  hell's  tor- 
ments produced  a  most  solemn  effect. 

As  we  were  sitting  at  the  dinner  table,  and  remarks 
were  passing  freely  in  regard  to  the  morning  service,  the 
young  man  above  mentioned  expressed  in  strong  terms 
his  disapprobation  of  the  sermon,  and  added,  "Such 
preaching  only  hardens  me  and  makes  me  worse.  "  I  re- 
plied, "  It  is  possible  that  you  think  it  makes  you  worse, 
when  it  only  makes  you  conscious  of  sin  that  was  before 
slumbering  in  your  heart. "  "No, "  Said  he,  "  it  hardens 
me.  I  am  at  this  moment  le3s  susceptible  to  any  thing 
like  conviction  for  hearing  that  discourse.  I  feel  more  in- 
clined to  resist  every  thing  like  good  imjjressions  than 
usual.  "  "Yet,"  I  rejoined,  "good  impressions  arc  those 
which  are  best  adapted  to  secure  the  desired  end  ;  and  I 
am  greatly  mistaken  if  an  increase  of  the  effect  which 
you  feel  would  not  be  greatly  useful  to  you:  If,  for  in- 
stance, you  should  read  now  the  Fifty-First  Psalm,- 
"  Show  pity,  Lord;    0  Lord,  forgive." 

it  would  take  a  deep  hold' on  your  heart." 

"  Not  the  least,  "  said  he,  "  I  could  read  it  without 
moving  a  muscle.  I  wish.  I  had  the  book,  I  would  read 
it  to  you. " 


Watts'  hymn.  41] 


"  We  have  one,  "    said  Mrs,  F ,   who  was   fully 

aware  of  the  excitement  under  which  he  was  laboring;  and 
the  book  was  handed  him,  opened  at  the  place.  He  com- 
menced to  read,  with  compressed  lips  and  firm  voice  : 

"Show  pity,  Lord;  0  Lord,  forgive  ; 
Let  a  repenting  sinner  live  : 
Are  not  th}'  mercies  large  and  free? 
May  not  a  sinner  trnst  in  Thee?  " 

Toward  the  last  part  of  this  stanza  a  little  trcmulous- 
ness  of  voice  was  plainly  discernible.  He  rallied  again, 
however,  and  commenced  the  second  verse  with  more 
firmness  : 

"  Oh,  ■wash  my  soul  from  every  sin, 

And  n  ake  my  guilty  conscience  clean  : 
Here  on  my  heart  the  burden  lies, 
And  past  offences  pain  mine  eyes.  " 

At  the  last  part  of  this  stanza  his  voice  faltered  more 
manifestly.  He  commenced  upon  the  third  verse  with  great 
energy,  and  read  in  a  loud,  sonorous  voice,  the  whole 
company  looking  on  in  breathless  silence: 

"  Jly  lips  with  shame  my  sins  confess.  " 

As  he  read  the  second  line, 

"Against  thy  law,  against  thy  grace,  " 
his  lips  quivered,  and  his  utterance  became  difficult.   He 
paused  a  little,  and  entered  upon  the  third  line  with  an 
apparently  new  determination: 

"  Lord,  should  thy  judgment'grow  severe.  " 
Yet  before  he  came  to  the  end  his  voice  was  almost  to- 
tally choked ;  and  when  he  began  upon  the  fourth  line, 

"  I  am  condemned,  but  thou  art  clear,  " 
an  aspect  of  utter  discouragement  marked  his  countenance, 
and  he  could  only  bring  out,  in  broken  sobs,  "  I  am  con- 
demned, "  when  his  utterance  changed  to  a  heart-brok- 
en crv  of  grief,  and  he  rising  at  the  same  time  rushed 
from  the  room,  as  a  deeply  convicted  sinner. 


G 


c 


412  Watts'  hymn. 

Hymns  upon  the  Battle -Field. 

tT  is  related  of  a  Christian  officer  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
that  he  lay  all  night  on  the  field,   wounded  in   both 
thighs.     Said  he,   "The  stars  shone  out  clear  over 
the  dark  battle-field,  and  I  began  to  think  about  that 
God  who  had  given  His  Son  to  die  for  me,  and  that  He 
was  up  above  those  glorious  stars.     I  felt  that  I  ought 
to  praise  Him,  even  while  Avounded  and  on  that  battle- 
ground.    I  could  nc^  help  singing  that  beautiful  hymn : — 
"  '  When  I  can  read  mj'  title  clear, 
To  mansions  in  the  skies, 
I'll  bid  farewell  to  every  fear. 
And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes. ' 

"There  was  a  Christian  brother  in  the  brush  near  me. 
I  could  not  see  him ;  but  I  could  hear  him.  He  took  up 
the  strain.  Another  beyond  him  heard  it,  and  joined  in 
and  still  others  too.  We  made  the  field  of  battle  ring 
with  the  hymn  of  praise  to  God. "      To  which  one  adds : 

"  What  an  exquisite  touch  that  is  in  ancient  Job,  where 
a  'widow's  heart  is  made  to  sing  for  joy. '  So  Paul  and 
Silas  felt  such  inward  gratitude  and  joy  that  even  at  mid- 
night, in  their  noxious  and  filthy  dungeon,  they  pealed 
out  God's  praises.  When  a  soul  is  filled  with  the  love 
of  Jesus,  the  voice  of  praise  is  irrepressible." 


f'^^EV.  MR.  SPURGEON  says :  "  At  the  battle  of  Dun- 
bar, when  Cromwell  and  his  men  fought  up  hill,  and 
step  by  step  achieved   the  victory,  their  watchword 
was  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  they  marched  to  the  battle 
singing : — 

"  '  0  Lord,  my  God,  arise,  and  let 
Mine  enemies  scattered   be  ; 
And  let  all  them  that  do  thee  hate, 
Before  thy  presence  flee. ' 

"When  they  had  won  the  day,  the  grand  old  leader, 


Watts'  hymn.  413 


C 


saint  aud  soldier  in  one,  bade  his  men  halt  and  sing  with 
him ;  and  there  they  poured  forth  a  psalm  with  such  lusty 
music,  that  the  old  German  ocean  might  well  have  clapped 
its  hands  in  chorus,  'Sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath 
triumphed  gloriously. ' 

*'  But  what  a  song  will  that  be  when  we,  the  followers 
of  Christ  against  sin,  shall  at  last  see  death  and  hell  over- 
come, and  with  our  Leader  standing  in  our  midst,  shall 
raise  the  last  great  hallelujah  to  God  and  the  Lamb, 
which  hallelujah  shall  roll  on  forever  and  ever." 

fFTER  the  battle  of  Agincourt  was  won,  the  king 
wanted  to  acknowledge  the  divine  interposition.  Or- 
dering the  chaplain  to  read  a  psalm,  when  he  came 
to  the  words,  "  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but 
unto  Thy  name  give  the  glory, "  the  king  and  the  cavalry 
dismounted,  and  all  the  host,  officers  aud  men,  prostrated 
themselves  upon  the  ground. 

Hymns  Making^  a  Bloody  Impression. 

fMON^G  the  records  of  the  revolution  an  incident  is 
given  of  a  party  of  British  soldiers.     Having  fired 
into  the  parsonage  of  a  Presbyterian  minister,  named 
Caldwell,  in  Connecticut,  and  shot  his   wife  who  was  at 
prayers  with  her  infant,  the  exasperated  minister  turned 
out  and  fought  in  the  ranks  of  his  townsmen. 

The  ammunition  of  the  patriots,  in  the  article  of  wad- 
ding, failing  them  at  a  critical  moment,  the  minister 
rushed  into  the  chapel,  and  soon  reappeared  bearing  in 
his  arms  a  pile  of  hymn  books,  which  he  scattered  along 
the  line  of  combatants,  exclaiming:  "Now  my  lads,  put 
Watts  (wads)  into  them." 

The  historian  intimates  that  it  is  easy  to  guess,  after 
this  which  party  was  victorious. 


414 


Watts'  hymn. 


'Not  all  the  Blood  of  Beasts." 


RECIOUS  and  oft-repeated  is 
this  hymn  of  Dr.  Watts.  We 
give  herewith  some  interesting 
statements  relating  to  it. 

A  Bible  colporteur  in  Lon- 
don gives  the  following  inter- 
view he  had  with  a  dying  Jew- 
ess on  the  day  of  her  death : 

"She  had  been  brought  fron> 
affluence  to  abject  poverty  for 
the  faith  of  Christ.     She  had 
at  one  time  kept  her  own  car- 
riage.    One  day  she  cast  her  eye  on  the  leaf  of  a  hymn- 
book  which  had  come  into  the  house,  covering  some  but" 
ter,  and  she  read  upon  it  these  words : — 

'  Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts 

On  Jewish  altars  slaia 
Could  give  the  guilty  conscience  peace> 
Or  wash  away  the  stain.' 

"  The  verse  haunted  her.  She  could  not  dismiss  it  nor 
forget  it ;  and  after  a  time  she  went  to  a  box  where  she 
remembered  she  had  a  Bible,  and,  induced  by  that  verse, 
began  to  read,  and  read  on  until  she  found  Christ  Jesus, 
'the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  w^orld.' 

"She  became  openly  a  convert  to  Christianity.  This 
.caused  her  husband  to  divorce  her.  He  went  to  India, 
where  he  married  again  and  died.  She  lived  in  much 
poverty  with  two  of  her  nation,  Jewish  sisters,  who  had 
also  become  Christians. 

"She  died  triumphing  in  Christ  as  her  Rock,  quoting 
and  applying  to  him  the  Psalms  of  David,  passing  with- 
out a  fear  through  the  dark  valley." 


w 


Watts^  hymn.  415 


mHE  Rev.  J.  D.  Reardon,  in  illustrating  the  "joys  of 
&)  salvation,"  said,  that,  like  Zaccheus,  he  himself  was 
led  as  a  penitent  to  receive  "Christ  joyfully."  Heavily 
laden  with  guilt  and  fear,  and  groping  for  a  long  while  in 
darkness,  he  was  in  a  moment  brought  into  the  light  and 
liberty  of  God's  people  by  the  quoting  of  the  third  verse 
of  this  hymn. 

His  pastor  had  been  unfolding  the  way  of  salvation  to 
him  and  other  inquirers,  when,  to  impress  the  truth  of 
the  Bible  contained  in  this  verse,  he  reached  out  his 
hands  just  as  the  ancient  priest  was  supposed  to  do  when 
placing  the  sins  of  the  people  upon  the  scape  goat,  and 
said,  "  Sinner,  it  is  just  this,  only  this  for  you  to  do,  and 
say:— 

"  My  faith  would  lay  her  hand 
On  that  dear  head  of  Thine, 
While  like  a  penilent  I  stand, 
And  ther«  confess  my  sin.'' 

My  eyes  opened  at  once  to  see  it.  I  burst  out  with 
laugliter ;  I  couldn't  help  it.  My  heart  in  a  moment 
was  filled  with  joy  and  has  been  ever  since. 


fOME  military  officers  and  other  Christian  friends  in 
]\Iontreal  were  singing  the  hymn — 
"Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts," 

when  Captain  L remarked  to  Captain  Hammond, 

"I  have  a  curious  fancy  concerning  that  hymn:  I  should 
like  it  sung  by  six  young  men  as  they  lower  me  into  the 
grave."  It  was  but  a  short  time  afterward  when  he  died, 
and  his  body  sank  to  rest  in  the  grave  amid  the  impres- 
sive singing  of  the  hymn,  as  requested ;  and  soon  after 
this  his  friend  Captain  Hammond  also  followed  him  to 
the  eternal  world. 


C 


416 


Watts'  hymn. 


r 


"My  Faith  would  Lay  her  Hand." 

ERY  beautiful  is  the  Scripture 
figure  that  underlies  this,  the 
third  verse  of  the  hymn  : 

"  Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts." 

An  English  clergyman  gives 
^^   the  following  statement : 

I  knew  of  a  little  child   in 
Kingston,  who  in  her  dreams 
seemed  to  remember  what  I  had 
been  preaching  about,  one  morn- 
ing particularly  calling  to  mind  these  words  of  the  hymn : 

"  My  faith  would  lay  her  hand 
On  that  dear  head  of  thine." 

You  know,  when  Dr.  Watts  wrote  these  words,  he 
referred  to  the  Levitical  custom  of  putting  the  hands  on 
the  head  of  the  sacrifice,  and  confessing  the  sins  of  the 
people  over  it :  thus  laying  the  burden  of  their  sins  upon 
him,  that  when  he  went  forth  he  took  them  far  away — 
away  to  the  land  of  forgetfulness,  where  they  could  never 
be  found  or  remembered  again. 

This  young  disciple  in  her  sleep  thought,  "Oh!  how 
I  should  like  to  put  my  hand  on  his  dear  bleeding  head." 
Then  she  thought  she  saw  the  blessed  Saviour  nailed  to 
the  cross,  enduring  such  agony;  His  sacred  head  was 
bowed,  weighed  down  with  the  awful  load  of  sin;  and 
as  she  gazed  steadfastly,  she  thought  she  drew  near,  and 
by  some  means  found  herself  putting  one  hand  on  that 
bleeding  head,  and  the  other  under  it,  to  support  it  and 
bear  it  up.  "And  oh  !"  she  felt,  "how  happy  am  I  to 
do  this.     Oh!  this  is  bliss — this  is  life!" 


'M 


Watts^  hymn.  417 

'  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne. " 


jn;HIS  is  Watts'  version  of  the  hundredth  Psalm.     The 
C^  first  verse,  which  is  now  omitted,  reads  thus : — 

"  Sing  to  the  Lord  with  joyful  voice  ; 
Let  every  land  His  name  adore  ; 
The  British  isles  shall  send  the  noise 

Across  the  ocean  to  the  shore.  "  • 

The  first  two  lines  of  the  second  verse, — 

"Nations  attend  before  His  throne, 

With  solemn  fear,  with  sacred  joy,  " 

were  altered  and  greatly  improved  by  Wesley,  and  made 
the  beginning  of  the  hymn  as  now  in  use: — 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 

Ye  nations,  bow  with  sacred  jqy,  " 

Dr.  Dempter,  formerly  the  senior  professor  in  the 
Garrett  Biblical  Institute,  relates  a  happy  effect  pro- 
duced while  singing  this  hymn  upon  the  sea.  He  was 
going  to  South  America,  accompanied  with  his  wife  and 
two  other  missionaries  and  their  wives,  when  to  their 
surprise,  they  found  a  pirate  vessel  in  fast  pursuit  of 
them.  As  the  disguised  enemy  refused  to  exchange  salu- 
tations, and  kept  drawing  nearer,  they  ascended  to  the 
deck  and  engaged  in  singing  to  the  tune  of  "Old  Hun- 
dred" this  grand  old  hymn: — 

"  Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 

Ye  nations,  bow  with  sacred  joy; 
Know  that  the  Lord  is  God  alone^ 
He  can  create,  and  He  destroy. " 

Dropping  on  their  knees,  they  prepared  to  meet  what 
seemed  to  be  their  doom,  in  earnest  prayer.  The  echo 
of  this  hymn  and  prayer  seemed  to  have  had  the  desired 
effect,  for  soon  after,  the  pirates  were  seen  to  turn  away 
and  disappear.  Truthfully  they  sung  in  the  hymn: — 
"  We  are  His  people,  we  His  care.  " 


,|i 


418  Watts'  hymn. 


The  Closed  Lips.  ' 

f  daughter  had  grown  up  to  maturity  in  a  Christian 
family,  who  was  always  accustomed  to  hear  a  fath- 
er's voice  lead  in  prayer  and  praise  before  breakfast. 
Although  busily  employed  in  secular  engagements,  he 
could  always  find  time  to  worship  Him,  who  was  all  the 
time  caring  for,  and  loving  him. 

He  could  not  aiFord  to  travel  on  life's  dangerous  jour- 
ey  without  daily  renewing  his  spiritual,  as  well  as  his 
physical  strength. 

Placing  his  incense  upon  the  family  altar,  he  would 
blend  his  voice  with  the  Psalmist  in  singing, 

"  Lord,  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear 
My  voice  ascending  high  ; 
To  thee  •will  I  direct  my  prayer, 
To  thee  lift  up  mine  eye.  " 

The  daughter,  being  so  often  prayed  for,  had  become 
so  accustomed  to  the  familiar  sound,  that  it  seemed  like 
a  meaningless  song. 

During  the  silence  of  a  midnight  hour,  a  cry  was  heard 
"  Behold  the  bridegroom  cometh.  "  The  father,  with  his 
well  filled  and  well  trimmed  lamp,  entered  the  marriage 
feast  of  the  Lamb. 

The  usual  breakfast  hour  arrived  for  those  who  were 
left  behind.  The  victuals  were  steaming  on  the  table, 
ready  to  be  eaten.  But  as  the  worship  always  preceded 
the  meal,  they  were  afraid  to  approach  the  table.  There 
lay  the  old  Bible  and  hymn  book  waiting  for  use.  After 
a  long,  sad  silence,  the  young  lady  stole  away  to  a  side 
room,  in  which  lay  her  father  on  his  cooling  board.  As 
the  morning  sun  was  peeping  in,  she  drew  down  the 
white  linen  from  his  closed  lips,  and  exclaimed  with 
uplifted  hands  and  streaming  eyes,  "  0  God  who'll  pray 
for  us  now. " 


r 


Watts'  hymn. 


419 


A  Singular  Coincidence. 

OME  few  yeurs  ago,  one  of  the 
Boston  papers  related  a  very 
beautiful  coincidence.  During 
the  morning  service  at  Christ's 
Church,  Salem  Street,  an  inci- 
dent occurred  which  would  have 
been  interpreted  by  some  of  the 
ancients  as  a  signal  of  divine 
approbation.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Marcus,  of  Nantucket,  the  offi- 
ciating minister,  read,  in  order 
to  be  sung,  the  Eighty-Fourth 
Psalm,   in   which  may  be  found  the  verse,- 

"  The  birds,  more  happier  far  than  I, 
Around  thy  temple  throng; 
Securely  there  they  build,  and  there 
Securely  hatch  their  young." 

While  he  was  reading  this  psalm,  a  dove  flew  in  at  one  of 
the  windows  and  alighted  on  the  capital  of  one  of  the  pil- 
asters near  the  altar,  and  almost  over  the  head  of  the 
reader.  A  note  of  the  psalm  and  hymn  to  be  sung  liad 
been  previously  given,  as  is  customary,  to  the  choir,  or  it 
might  have  been  supposed  that  there  was  design  in  the 
selection ;  for  the  second  hymn  commenced,— 

"  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  Heavenly  Dove, 
With  all  thy  quickening  powers 
Kindle  a  flame  of  sacred  love 
In  thes3  cold  hearts  of  ours  !  " 

The  preacher  was  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  the 
bird  until  the  close  of  the  services,  when  the  innocent  vis- 
itor was  suffered  to  depart  in  peace. 


r 


w 


V 


420 


Watts'  hymn  illustrated. 


"Alas!  and  did  iri}'-  Saviour  bleed, 
And  did  my  sovereign  die." 


T  Nashville  cemetery  Tenn.,  a 
stranger  was  seen  planting  a 
flower  over  a  soldier's  grave. 

When  asked :  *' Was  your  son 
buried  there  ?"  "No"  "A  broth- 
ler?"  "No."  "A  relative?"  "No." 
After  a  moment's  pause  the 
^stranger  laid  down  a  small  board 
(which  he  had  in  his  hand,  and 
,,^'said:  "Well,  I  will  tell  you. 
"^^  When  the  war  broke  out  I  lived 
in  Illinois.  I  wanted  to  enlist,  but  was  poor.  I  had  a 
wife  and  seven  children.  I  was  drafted.  I  had  no  mon- 
ey to  hire  a  substitute,  so  made  up  my  mind  that  I  must 
leave  my  poor,   sickly   children,  and  go. 

After  I  had  got  all  things  ready  to  go,  a  yotmg  man 
whom  I  knew  came  to  me  and  said :  'You  have  a  largo 
family,  which  your  wife  cannot  take  care  of.  I  will  go  for 
you.'  He  did  go  in  my  place,  and  in  the  battle  of  Chick- 
amauga  was  wounded,  and  taken  to  Nashville.  Here 
he  died,  ever  since  I  have  wished  to  come  to  see  his  grave, 
so  I  have  saved  up  all  the  spare  money  I  could,  and 
came  on,    and  found  my  dear  friend's  grave." 

With  tears  of  gratitude  running  down  his 
cheek,  he  took  up  a  board  and  pressed  it 
down  into  the  ground  as  a  tomb-stone. 

Under  the  soldier's  name  Mere  written 
only    these   words:     "He   died  for  me." 

This  was  a  touching  exhibition  of  love 
and  gratitude.     But  how  much  greater  rea- 
son have  we  as  sinners  with  grateful  hearts,^ 
to  inscribe  on  the  uplifted  cross;  "  JESUs  died  for  me.' 


C 


Watts^  hymn  illustrated.  421 


"  Well  might  the  sun  in  darkness  hide, 
And  shut  his  glories  in." 


%  HISTORIAN   gives  us  the  following  interesting 
<^  facts : — 

"  The  wonderful  darkening  of  the  sun  at  our  Lord's 
death,  and  earthquake,  are  recorded  by  Phlegon,  whom 
Eusebius  calls  an  excellent  computer  of  the  Olympiads. 
He  says :  'Then  there  was  a  great  and  wonderful  eclipse 
beyond  any  that  ever  happened.  The  day,  at  the  sixth 
hour,  was  so  flir  turned  into  dark  night  that  the  stars 
appeared ;  and  an  earthquake  in  Bithynia  did  overthrow 
many  houses  in  the  city  of  Nice. 

"'Now  this  darkening  of  the  sun  recorded  by  Phlegon 
and  that  in  the  holy  evangelists  at  our  Lord's  death,  are 
the  one  and  the  same ;  for  b(itli  happened  the  same  year, 
namely,  the  eighteenth  of  Tiberius;  the  same  hour,  viz, 
the  sixth  hour  of  the  day;  and  a  great  earthquake  made 
both  more  memorable. 

"'Therefore,  Tertulian,  when  pleading  the  cause  of 
Christians  against  the  heathen,  a})peals  to  their  public 
tables  and  records  as  witnesses  of  the  fact. 

"'Lucianus  of  Antioch,  the  martyr,  appeals  to  the 
archives  of  Nicomedia,  before  the  president  of  the  city  : 
'Consult,'  said  he,  'the  annals,  and  you'll  find  that,  in 
the  time  of  Pilate,  while  Christ  suffered,  in  the  middle 
of  the  day,  the  sun  did  disappear,  and  chase  away  the 
day.'  'Tis  also  observable  that  it  is  reported  in  the 
history  of  China,  written  by  Hadrianus  Greslonius,  that 
the  Chinese  remark:  'That  at  the  same  time  we  Clirist- 
ians  compute  Christ  suffered,  in  the  month  of  April,  an 
extraordinary  eclipse,  beyond  the  laws  and  observa- 
tion of  the  motions  of  the  planets,  then  happened,  at 
Avhich  event  Quamvutius  the  emperor  was  very  much 
moved. ' 


'M 


422  Watts'  hymn  illustrated. 


C 


"Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away." 

^^^R.  RALPH  WELLS  tells  of  a  little  girl  who  pre- 
"^^  sented  hira  with  a  small  bouquet  of  dandelions — an 
ordinary  flower,  but  early,  and  doubtless  the  only  one 
she  could  well  procure  at  that  season.  He  inquired  why 
she  gave  him  the  bouquet. 

"Because  I  love  you,"  the.child  answered. 

"Do  you  bring  little  gifts  to  Jesus?"  said  Mr."  Wells. 

"Oh,"  said  the  little  child,  "  I  give  myself  to  Him." 

fNE  evening  several  newly-converted  people  were 
telling  each  other  what  God  had  done  for  their  souls. 
Among  them  a  little  girl  about  seven  years  of  age,  with 
a  face  beaming  with  happiness,  said,  "I  have  given  up 
my  heart  to  Jesus,  every  bit  of  it !  " 

two  days   after  a   boy   had  found  the   Saviour   he 
appeared  at  a  meeting  with  a  sad  countenance.     A 
tear  was  trickling  down  his  cheeks.     His  pastor  said 
to  him,  "What  is  the  matter,  John?     I  thought  you  had 
given  your  heart  to  Jesus. " 

"Yes,"  said  John,  "I  did  give  him  my  heart,  but  I 
have  taken  it  back  again. " 

'*  j|  I^-^^E  given  my  tongue  to  God,"  said  a  little  boy, 
^  "so  I  must  take  care  how  I  use  it." 


YOUNG  man,  very  poor,  having  no  money  to  put 
3  on  the  plate  at  a  missionary  meeting,  wrote  on  a  slip 
of  paper,  "  Myself, "  and  dropped  that  in. 

;AID'a  little  girl,  "Mother,  I  can't  tell  how  happy  I 

.  felt  in  prayer  this  morning!     When  I  gave  myself 

to  God,  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  a  sun  in  my  heait." 


;ii 


Watts'  hymn  illustrated.  423 


"Tis  all  that  I  can  do." 


fHIS  is  the  last  line  of  the  hymn  noticed  on  the  pre- 
ceding pages. 

In  eastern  Pennsylvania,  dnring  a  season  of  revival, 
a  lad  solicited  the  prayers  of  the  church  for  some  two 
weeks,  and  on  the  last  night  of  the  protracted  meeting, 
having  found  no  relief,  he  proposed  to  two  Cliristian 
friends,  on  leaving  the  church  door,  that  if  they  would 
pray  for  him  at  their  homes,  he  would  spend  the  night 
in  prayer. 

Entering  a  barn  he  ascended  the  hay-mow  and  en- 
gaged in  earnest  pleadings  for  mercy.  The  dawn  of  day 
scattered  the  darkness  of  nigiit  but  found  him  still 
shrouded  in  gloom.  AVhen  at  length  the  streaks  of  sun- 
light shot  across  the  haymow,  he  arose  from  his  knees  in 
utter  despair,  saying  in  the  deepest  agony,  "Well,  its  all 
of  no  use,  I  have  done  all  /  can  do. "  As  he  seated  him- 
self upon  the  beam  which  overhung  the  threshing-floor 
his  eyes  were  opened  to  see  his  mistake  in  hiding  behind 
what  he  and  others  were  doing,  rather  than  in  what 
Christ  had  already  done  for  him.  So  leaving  go  every 
human  prop  his  heart  utterance  w^as, 

"  A  guilty,  weak  and  helpless  worm 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall, 
Be  Thou  my  strength  and  righteousness, 
My  Jesus,  and  my  all.  " 

As  he  dropped  from  the  haymow,  he  seemed  to  fall 
into  the  loving  arms  of  his  complete  Saviour,  fully  real- 
izing the  import  of  the  words, 

"  Tis  all  that  I  can  do.  " 

and  ran  out  of  the  barn  with  joyful  haste  to  tell   his 
friends  the  good  news  of  his  salvation. 


M) 


424 


Watts'  hymn  illustrated. 


c; 


Love  so  amazing:,  so  divine, 
Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all. " 


OMETIMES  these  lines  are 
sung  when  they  do  not  give 
a  true  expression  of  the  feel- 
ings of  the  heart.  As  these 
thoughts  were  brought  out  in 
a  charity  sermon,  a  stingy 
Christian,  nearly  deaf,  uncon- 
sciously talked  out  the  strug- 
gle that  Avas  going  on  within. 
As  reported  by  the  Presbyter- 
ian, "  he  sat  under  the  pulpit 
with  his  car  trumpet  directed  upward  toward  the  preach- 
er. The  sermon  moved  him  considerably.  At  one  time 
he  said  to  himself — "I'll  give  ten  dollars;"  again  he 
said,  "I'll  give  fifteen."  At  the  close  of  the  appeal  he 
was  very  much  moved  and  thought  he  would  give  fifty 
dollars.  Now,  the  boxes  were  passed.  As  they  moved 
along,  his  charity  began  to  ooze  out.  He  came  down 
from  fifty  to  twenty,  to  ten,  to  five,  to  zero.  He  con- 
cluded he  would  not  give  anything.  "Yet  said  he, 
"this  Avon't  do — I  am  in  a  bad  fix.  This  covetousness 
will  be  my  ruin." 

"The  boxes  Avere  getting  nearer  and  nearer.  The 
crisis  Avas  now  upon  him  What  should  he  do?  The 
box  was  now  under  his  chin — all  the  congregation  Avere 
looking.  He  had  been  holding  his  pocket-book  in  his 
hand  during  this  soliloquy,  Avhich  was  half  audible, 
though  in  his  deafness  he  did  not  know  that  he  Avas 
heard.  In  agony  of  the  final  moment  he  took  his  pock- 
et-book and  laid  it  in  the  box,  saying  to  himself  as  he 
did  it, — "iVbtr  squirm  old  natur  I" 


U 


Watts'  hymn  illustrated.  425 


"  Singing  Lies. " 

f  LITTLE  girl  gave  as  her  reason  for  not  singing  in 
Sunday  school,  that  she  could  not  sing  lies.     After 
relating  some  of  her  wicked  acts  lo  her  mother,  she 
asked,  "  How  then  could  I  stand  up  and  sing : — 

"Jesus  loves  me,  this  1  know,  " 

Is  it  not  as  wrong  to  siuff  as  it  is  to  tell  lies?" 

jmN  a  church  in  London,  the  hymn  commencing, 
^5  "  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross,  " 

was  sung  after  a  collection  had  been  taken. 
When    it    ended   the  preacher    slowly  repeated  the 
last  line: — 

"  Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all.  " 
adding,   "Well,  I  «wi  surprised  to   hear  you  sing   that. 
Do  you  know  that  altogether  you  only  put  fifteen  shillings 
into  the  bag  this  morning. " 

f  negro  woman  in  Jamaica  was  very  fond  ot  going  to 
missionary  meetings,  and  singing  with  great  fervor, 
"  Fly  abroad,  thou  mighty  gospel. ' 
But  whenever  the  plates  went  round  for  collection  she 
always  sang  with  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  ceiling.  On  one 
occasion,  however,  a  negro  touched  her  with  the  plate, 
and  said  :  "  Sissy,  it's  no  use  for  you  to  sing  '  Fly  a- 
broad  '  with  your  eyes  on  the  ceiling ;  it's  no  use  to  sing 
'  fly '  at  all,  unless  you  give  something  to  make    it   fly, '" 

f  GENTLEMAN  in  Kentucky  worth  $100,000  was 
present  at  a  meeting  to  solicit  aid  for  some  sufferers. 
He  wept  profusely,  and   when  the  plate  went  round 
he  gave^^/%  cents;  whereupon  a  little  girl  sitting  near, 
said:  "  That  was  a  heap  of  crying  for  a  little  giving." 


4£6  Watts'  hymn. 


A  Hymn  IllHstrated  while  it  was  Being  Sung. 

f  SPEAKER,  arguing  in  favor  of  addressing  the  eye 
as  well  as  the  ear,  said  that  man  was  more  anxious 
to  see  than  to  hear.  As  evidence  he  referred  to  the 
almost  universal  tendency,  during  preaching,  for  an  au- 
dience to  turn  round  their  heads  to  see  when  any  persons 
may  be  entering  the  church,  no  matter  what  is  being  said. 

Commencing  the  delivery  of  a  course  of  "Illustrated 
Sermons"  in  a  section  of  New  Jersey,  where  tlie  people 
had  become  accustomed  to  swing  around  their  heads  when- 
ever the  church  door  swung  open,  we  were  considerably 
impressed  with  a  singular  coincidence. 

In  these  sermons,  we  have  the  hymns  painted  on  can- 
vass to  appear  above  the  pulpit  in  the  same  frame-work 
that  sup})orts  the  Scripture  scenes  used  as  illustrations, 
so  that  all  are  enabled  to  join  in  the  singing.  On  this 
occasion  the  hymn  being  sung  was : — 

"  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove, 
With  all  Thy  quick'ning  power." 

But  as  we  got  along  to  the  words, 

"  Look  how  we  grovel  here  below, 
Fond  of  these  trifling  toys,  " 

they  turned  their   heads  around   with  a  groveling  look 

to  see  what  "earthly  toys"  were  appearing  at  the  opening 

church  door.     A  few  kept  on  singing  the  timely  words : — 

"  In  vain  we  tune  our  formal  songs, 
In  vain  we  strive  to  rise.  " 

But  as  a  long  string  of  other  tardy  ones  came  pressing  up 

the  aisles,    the  sound    gradually    languished    away    as 

only  a  very  few  continued  truthfully  to  sing : — 

"Hosannas  languish  on  onr  tongues. 
And  our  devotion  dies,  " 

until  at  length  the  pastor,  myself,  and  the  organ  sang  out: 

"  Dear  Lord,  and  shall  we  ever  live 
At  this  poor  dying  rate.  " 


Watts'  hymn  illustrated.  429 


**  Kindle  a  flame  of  sacred  love. " 


%  SPEAKER,  in  illustrating  the  want    of  religious 
*^  enthusiasm,  said: — 

"A  Scottish  doctor  got  fidgety  because  the  train  was 
delaying. 

"'What's  the  matter?  Isn't  there  plenty  of  water?' 
some  one  asked. 

"'O  yes,'  was  the  reply ;  '  there's  plenty  o'  water ;  but 
it  isn't  a  bilin' ! ' 

"  There  is  the  trouble  with  a  great  many  trains  of  use- 
fulness that  ought  to  be  moving.  Water  enough,  but  '  it 
isn't  a  boiling  ! '  " 

**^UPPOSE,  "  says  one,  "  we  saw  an  army  of  soldiers 
^  before  a  granite  fort  and  they  told  us  they  intended 
to  batter  it  down,  we  might  ask,  with  what?" 
They  point  to  a  cannon-ball.  Well,  but  there  is  no  pow- 
er in  that.  They  say,  '  No  ;  but  look  at  the  cannon. ' 
Well,  but  there  is  no  power  in  that.  A  child  may  ride 
upon  it ;  a  bird  may  perch  in  its  mouth.  It  is  a  machine, 
and  nothing  more.  'But  look  at  the  powder. '  Well, 
there  is  no  power  in  that ;  a  child  may  spill  it,  a  sparrow 
may  pick  it.  Yet  this  powerless  powder  and  powerless 
ball  are  put  in  the  powerless  cannon ;  one  spark  of  fire 
enters  it,  and  then  in  a  twinkling  of  an  eye  that  powder 
is  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  that  cannon-ball  is  a  thunder- 
bolt, wjiich  smites  as  if  it  had  been  sent  from  heaven. 
So  it  is  with  our  church  ( or  school )  machinery  of  this 
day  ;  we  have  the  instruments  necessary  for  pulling  down 
strong  holds,  but  oh,  for  the  fire  from  heaven  J  " 

It  was  the  "live  coal"  from  the  altar  that  touched  the 
lips  of  Isaiah;  it  was  when  the  Spirit  rested  upon  the 
disciples  as  flaming  tongues  of  fire  that  they  were  endued 
with  power.    John  was  a  burning  and  shining  light. 


W 


430  Watts'  hymn  illustrated. 


A  Hymn  that  a  Church  Refused  to  Sing. 

fHE  late  Rev.  R.  V.  Lawrence  related  the  following 
interesting  incident  that  occurred  in  New  Jersey : 
"A  minister  was  called  to  take  charge  of  a  congre- 
gation that  liis  predecessor  had  left  in  a  blessed  state  of 
revival,  with  hearts  all  aglow  with  the  heavenly  fire. 

"At  the  first  prayer-meeting  service  he  began  to  read 
the  hymn : — 

'"  Come   Holy  Spirit  lieaA-enly  dove 
With  all  Thy  quick"ning  powers," 

As  he  read  the  next  two  lines, 

'"  Kindle  a  flame  of  sacred  love 
In  these  cold  hearts  of  ours  ' 

a  brother  called  out,  'Dear  pastor,  that  hymn  does  not 
suit  us.  Our  hearts  are  not  "cold."'  As  he  still  pro- 
ceeded in  reading  the  next  verse, 

"  Look  how  we  grovel  here  below 
Fond  of  these  trifling  toys  ! 
Our  souls  can  neither  fly  nor  go 
To  reach  eternal  joys. ' 

another  responded  'We  can  "fly"  and  "go"  and  "reach 
eternal  joys."' 

"Tlie  confused  pastor  however  persisted  in  reading 
the  third  verse. 

'"  In  vain  we  tune  our  foriral  songs 
In  vain  we  strive  to  rise: 
Hosannas  languish  on  onr  tongues 
And  our  devotion  dies. ' 

When  being  told  again  that  their  songs  were  not  'formal,' 
that  their ''hosannas'  did  not  'languish,'  he  closed  by 
saying,  'Well,  that  is  my  condition  if  it  is  not  yours.' 
Asking  the  prayers  of  the  warm  hearted  brethren  on  his 
behalf,  he  dropped  on  bended  knees. " 


Waits'  hymn.  431 


A  Hymn  to  Wake  up  the  Sleepers. 

f  PASTOR,  preaching  in  Southern  New  Jersey,  find- 
ing a  goodly   number  of  his   hearers  accustomed  to 
take  a  churchly   najj,   imdertook  a  plan  to  break  up 
the  habit.     He  told  his  chorister  that  on  some  occasion 
when  he  found  his  drowsy  hearers  asleep,  he  would  stop 
preaclung  and  turn   around  to  drink  a  glass  of  water, 
and  when  that  signal  was  given  he  should,  without  any 
further  notice,  burst  out  in  singing  the  hymn : — 
"  My  drowsy  powers  why  sleep  ye  so? 
Awake  !  my  sluggish  soul.  " 

One  evening  as  he  observed  the  sleepy  heads  nodding, 
he  thought  he  would  try  his  experiment.  So  coming  to 
a  sudden  stop  in  his  discourse,  he  lifted  the  glass  of  water 
to  his  lips,  but  the  expected  sound  of  singing  did  not 
follow.  When  lo!  to  his  astonishment,  he  found  the 
chorister  himself  asleep.  A  friend  near  by  who  was 
in  the  secret  woke  him  up,  when  he  saw  at  a  glance  what 
was  wanted,  and  at  once  commenced  singing  the  appro- 
priate words; 

",  My  drowsy  powers  ■p  hy  sleep  ye  so  ? 
Awake  !  my  sluggish  soul. 
Nothing  has  half  thy  work  to  do 
Yet  nothing's  half  so  dull.  " 

This  aroused  the  sleepers,  who,  thinking  that  the  ser- 
mon had  closed  and  that  this  was  the  last  hymn,  at  once 
arose  to  their  feet,  as  was  the  custom  in  singing.  But  as 
they  stood  alone,  and  saw  others  laughing,  they  soon 
perceived  their  mistake  and  one  after  another  sat  down 
ao-ain  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  wakeful  part  of  the 
audience. 

It  was  a  long  while  before  the  pastor  had  occasion  to 
resort  to  another  expedient  to  stir  up  the  "  drowsy  pow- 
ers "  of  "  sluggish  souls. " 


C^ 


432  "Jesus,  Hove  thy  charming  name." 


"  I'll  speak  the  honors  of  Thy  name 
With  my  last  laboring  breath." 


'HEN  Beveridge  was  on  his  death-bed  a  ministerial 
friend  called  to  see  liini.  When  conducted  into 
the  bed-room,  he  said,  "Bishop  Beveridge,  do 
}'0U  know  me?"  "Who  are  you?"  said  the  Bishop. 
Being  told,  he  answered,  "I  don't  know  you." 

Another  friend,  equally  well-known,  asked  him  the 
same  question;  but  still  his  answer  was,  "I  don't 
know  you." 

Then  his  wife  asked  him  if  he  knew  her;  still  the  an- 
swer was,  "I  don't  know  you."  At  length,  one  said, 
"Do  you  know  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?"  "Jesus 
Christ?"  said  he,  reviving,  as  if  the  name  had  the  in- 
fluence of  a  charm;  "O  yes,  I  have  known  him  these 
forty  years.     Precious  Saviour,  he  is  my  only  hope.  " 


fERY  similar    was  the  experience  of  Rev.  Dudley 
A.  Tyng,  who  breathed  out  towards  his  last  the  ever- 
memorable  words,  "Stand  up  for  Jesus." 
Says  his  father.  Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Tyng, — 
"But  the  power  of  life  was  now  very  rapidly  sinking. 
Soon  he  seemed  no  longer  conscious  of  our  presence,  his 
eyes  were  fixed,  and  the  blood  settled  around  them  in 
the  dark  hue  of  death. 

"At  his  physician's  request,  I  roused  him  again,  and 
asked  him  with  a  loud  voice,  '  Do  you  see  me,  my  dear 
son?'  'Xo. '  'Do  you  know  me?'  'No.'  'Do  you 
not  know  your  father's  voice?'  'No.'  His  wife  then 
made  the  same  attempts,  with  the  same  result.  Then 
I  said,  'Do  you  know  Jesus?'  'Oh!  yes,'  in  a  voice  of 
wonderful  strength  and  deliberation,  very  loud,  as  if  to 
be  able  to  hear  his  own  voice,  and  very  slow,  as  if  the 
power  of  speech  was  passing  away,  '  I  hnoio  Jesus. " 


Watts'  hymn  illustrated. 


433 


"  And  must  this  body  die  ? 
Tills  mortal  frame  decay? 


ERXES  the  Great,  was  much 
impressed  by  this  thought  while 
ou  his  way  to  conquer  Greece. 
Having  paused  on  the  banks 
of  the  Hellespont,  he  gathered 
around  him  his  immense  army 
of  some  two  million  soldiers  in 
battle  array, — the  largest  body 
of  men,  it  is  thought,  that  were 
ever  before  or  since  thus  assem- 
bled. After  causing  a  marble 
throne  to  be  erected  on  an  emi- 
nence, he  seated  himself  upon  it.  As  he  looked  down 
upon  such  a  sea  of  unturned  flices,— of  men  wdlmg  to  do 
or  dare  anything  fo/their  leader,— smiles  of  approbation 
wreathed  his  countenance,  but,  at  length,  teai^  were 
found  to  stream  down  his  face,  when  an  astonished  friend 
by  his  side  inquired,  "Xerxes  the  Great,  why  weepest 
thou?"  He  replied,  "The  thought  has  just  filled  my 
mind,  that  in  one  hundred  years  hence,  not  one  of 
those  millions  will  be  above  ground." 
"Shall  I  not  weep?" 

^HIS  was  the  question  of  Rabbi  Jochanan  Ben  Zachi. 
S)  When  sick  his  disciples  vished  him,  and  as  he  began 
to  weep,  they  said  unto  him,  "Rabbi,  the  light  of  Is- 
rael, the  right  hand  pillar,  wherefore  dost  thou  weep? 
He  answered  "Now  I  am  going  before  the  King  of 
kines,  the  holy  God;  if  he  condemn  me  to  death,  that 
dcatli  will  be  eternal;  there  are  before  me  two  ways,  the 
one  to  hell  and  the  other  to  paradise,  and  I  know  not 
into  which  they  are  carrying  me,  shall  I  not  weej)^" 


C 


w 


434  Charles  Wesley. 


Charles  Wesley  and  his  Hymns. 

fMONG  uninspired  men,  whom  God  lias  raised  up  to 
furnish  songs  for  Zion,  Watts  and  Wesley  stand  pre- 
eminent. Which  of  the  two  was  the  greater,  the 
light  of  eternity  only  can  reveal.  Neither  is  it  a  matter 
of  any  great  moment  for  us  to  know,  as  both  laid  their 
trophies  at  Jesus' feet  and  crowned  Him  Lord  of  all. 
"  Watts  created  a  people's  hymnal ;  Wesley  created  a  peo- 
ple of  hymn  singers."  Watts  wrote  in  retirement  and 
leisure;  Wesley  amid  a  great  religious  upheaval,  and 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  moment.  The  hymns  of 
Watts  were  begotten  in  time  of  general  religious  dearth ; 
those  of  Wesley,  amid  the  refreshing  showers  of  a  gracious 
revival.  While  Wesley  wrote  seven  thousand  hymns, 
and  thus  excelled  in  numbers,  Watts  wrote  but  six  hun- 
dred and  ninty-seven,  and  yet  far  outnumbers  Wesley  in 
the  quantity  of  his  hymns  in  actual  use.*  Isabella  L. 
Bird,  an  able  and  prolific  writer  on  the  subject  of  hym- 
nology,  says: — 

"  Judo-ino;  from  the  results  of  an  examination  of  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  hymn  books,  it  is  safe  to  assign  to 
Watts  the  authorship  of  two-fifths  of  the  hymns,  which 
are  used  in  public  worship  in  the  English  speaking 
world." 

Charles  Wesley  was  born  December,  18,  1708.  He 
was  the  third  son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley,  Sr.,  who 
was  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  Epworth,  England. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  Wesleys  became  so  emi- 
nently useful,  when  we  look  into  the  heart  of  their  saintly 
mother,  who  trained  them  for  service.  Writing  of  her 
Saviour,  says  she:  "O  my  dear  Charles,  when  I  consider 
the  dignity  of  his  person,  the  perfectness  of  his  purity, 
the  greatness  of  his  suiferings,  but  above  all,  his  boundless 
love,  I  am  astonished  and  utterly  confounded.     I  am  lost 

*  In  Methodist  churches  Wesley's  hymna  outnumber  Watts'  more  than  four-fold. 


^ 


Wesley  continued.  437 


in  thought.  I  fall  into  nothing  before  Him."  It  was 
a  singular  coincidence  that  Wesley  wrote  the  following 
lines,  when  he  was  forty,  and  died  in  his  eightieth  year^ 

"And  have  I  measured  half  mj  days, 
And  half  my  journey  run  ?  "* 

Having  been  thrown  from  his  horse  one  day,  he  made 
the  following  record: ''My  companions  thought  I  had 
broken  my  neck;  but  my  leg  only  was  bruised,  mv  hand 
sprained,  and  my  head  stunned,  which  spoiled  my  mahing 
hymns  until— next  day."  From  1738  to  1788,  We.slev 
issued,  in  connection  with  his  brother,  John,  thirty-nine 
different  books  of  hymns  and  poetry. 

The  Church  of  England  closed  her  doors  against  Wes- 
ley while  living,  but  now  her  most  magnificen't  cathedrals 
echo  with  such  of  his  hymns  as  "Hark,  the  herald  angels 
sing,"  "Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day,"  and  "Hail1;he 
day  that  sees  Him  rise."  The  hvmns  used  bv  the  eleven 
millions  of  peo[)le,  which  the  Methodists  are 'supposed  to 
number,  are  mainly  his,  and  every  year  as  his  merits 
become  better  known,  and  as  Christians  get  nearer  each 
otber  as  tl^ey  get  nearer  the  cross,  the  hymns  of  Charles 
Wesley  become  more  highly  appreciated  and  more  widely 
used. 

^  Wesley  began  to  write  hymns  when  he  was  twentv- 
nine  and  kept  his  pen  going  till  in  his  eightieth  vear, 
and  when  at  last  it  dropped  from  his  hand,  in  the  hour 
of  death,  he  could  not  yet  keep  silent,  but  dictated  his 
last  hymn,  just  as  he  was  preparing  to  mount  up,  and 
join  in  the  hallelujahs  of  the  skies.  How  significant 
therefore  his  last  words  in  verse: — 

"In  age  and  feebleness  extreme, 

Who  shall  a  helpless  worm  redeem? 

Jesus  my  only  hope  thou  art, 

Strength  to  my  failing  flesh  and  heart; 

Oh,  could  I  catch  a  smile  from  thee, 

Then  drop  into  eternity." 


ace  Oreamer'i  -- MethodUt  U/inaology,"  page  oJ4. 


w 


438 


Charles  Wesley^s  hymn. 


C 


A  Thousand  Tongues  to  Sing. 

O  Charles  Wesley,  the  Christ- 
ian world  is  indebted  for  many 
ofits  most  precious  hymns.  The 
instrument  that  led  him  into 
the  sunlight  of  God's  grace,  was 
a  ]\Irs.  Turner,  a  poor  ]\Iora- 
vian  woman. 

During  a  spell  of  sickness,  he 
was  detained  in  London,  at  the 
house  of  a  pious  mechanic, 
of  whom,  it  is  said,  "he  knew 
nothing  but  Christ." 
After  a  night  of  agony,  Wesley  awoke,  May  21  1738, 
"  full  of  tossings  to  and  fro,  "  calling  aloud,  "  O  Jesus, 
thou  hast  said,  '  I  will  come  unto  you.'  Thou  hast  said, 
'  /  uiill  send  the  comforter  unto  you. '  Thou  hast  said, 
'  3Iy  Father  and  I  will  come  unto  you  and  will  make  our 
abode  with  you. '  Thou  art  God,  who  can'st  not  lie.  I 
wholly  rely  upon  thy  promise."      ^ 

As  Mrs.  Turner  heard  these  plaintive  cries,  she  was 
constrained  to  gently  say  through  the  slightly  opened 
door,  "  In  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  arise,  and  be- 
lieve, and  thou  shall  be  healed  of  all  thy  infirmities. " 

It  waa  "a  word  fitly  spoken.  "  Said  he,  "  O  that  Christ 
would  but  thus  speak  to  me,"  and  then  added  "  I  believe, 
I  believe.  "  The  victory  Avas  won.  The  clouds  of  unbe- 
lief melted  away,  before  the  rising  sun. 

With  a  heart  burning  with  love  to  the  newly-found 
Saviour,  he  took  his  pen,  and  wrote  the  hymn  ; 

"  0  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  dear  Redeemer's  praise  ; 
The  glories  of  my  God  aid  King, 
The  triumphs  of  his  grace  !  " 


1/ 


diaries  Wesley's  hymn.  439 


•  0  may  it  all  ruy  powers  engage 
To  do  my  Masters  will.  " 


(KHARLES  WESLEY  fully  exemplified  these  lines  of 
lip  his  hymn,  relating  to  *'A  charge  to  keep  I  have." 

Mr.  Moore  gives  this  description  of  his  absorption 
in  the  work  of  his  life,  even  when  nearly  eighty  years 
of  age: — "He  rode  every  day — clothed  for  winter  even 
in  summer — a  litfle  horse,  gray  with  age.  When  he 
mounted,  if  a  subject  struck  him,  he  proceeded  to  expand 
and  put  it  in  order.  He  would  write  a  hymn  thus  given 
him,  on  a  card  kept  for  that  purpose,  with  his  pencil,  in 
short  hand.  Not  unfrequently  he  has  come  to  the  house 
in  the  City  Road,  and  having  left  the  pony  in  the  gar- 
den in  front,  he  would  enter,  crying  out,  *Pen  and  ink! 
j)en  and  ink ! '  These  being  supplied,  he  wrote  the  hymn 
he  had  been  composing.  When  this  was  done,  he  would 
look  round  on  those  present  and  salute  them  with  much 
kindness,  and  thus  put  all  in  mind  of  eternity.  He  was 
fond  on  these  occasions  of  the  lines, — 

"There  all  the  ship's  company  meet. 

Who  sailed  with  the  Saviour  beneath ; 
"With  shouting  each  other  they  greet, 

And  triumph  o'er  sorrow  and  death; 
The  voyage  of  life's  at  an  end, 

The  mortal  affliction  is  past; 
The  age  that  in  heaven  they  spend 

For  ever  and  ever  shall  last.  " 

When  Newton,  whose  busy  pen  produced  many  of  our 
church  hymns,  was  eighty  years  of  age,  he  was  advised 
to  relax  his  manifold  labors.  "I  cannot  stop,"  said  he, 
raising  his  voice.  "What!  shall  the  old  African  blas- 
phemer stop  while  he  can  speak  ?  " 

John  AVesley  said  in  like  manner  in  old  age:  — 

"My  body  with  my  charge  lay  down, 
And  cease  at  once  to  work  and  live.  " 


440 


Origin  of  C.  Weslc^/s  hymn. 


r 


Origin  of  "  Jesus  lover  of  my  soul.  " 

fHARLES  and  John  Wesley,  and  Richard  Pihnore 
were  holding  one  of  their  twilight  meetings  on  the 
common,  when  the  mob  assailed  them,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  flee  for  their  lives. 

Being  separated  for  a  time,  as  they  were  being  jiolted 
with  stones,  they  at  length  in  their  flight,  succeeded  in 
getting  beyond  a  hedge  row,  where  they  prostrated  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  and  placed  their  hands  on  the  back 
of  their  heads  for  protection  from  the  stones  which  still 
came  so  near  that  they  could  feel  the  current  of  air  made 
by  the  missiles  as  tiiey  went  whizzing  over  them. 

In  the  night  shades  that  were  gathering,  they  manag- 
ed to  hide  from  the  fury  of  the  rabble  in  a  spring-house. 
Here  they  struck  a  light  Avith  a  flint-stone,  and  after 
dusting  their  clothes,  and  washing,  they  refreshed  them- 
selves with  the  cooling  water  that  came  bubbling  up  in 
a  spring,  and  rolling  out  in  a  silver  streamlet. 

Charles  Wesley  pulled  out  a  lead  pencil  ( made  by 
hammering  to  a  point  a  piece  of  lead, )  and  from  the  in- 
spiration of  these  surroundings,  composed  the  precious 
hymn : — 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul.  " 
The  flight  had  no  doubt  suggested  the  second  line : — 

"  Let  me  to  Th}'  bosom  fly." 
The  waters  gliding  at  his  feet, — 

"  While  the  nearer  waters  roll.  " 
Thus  it  was  originally  written.     It  is  now  often  sung: — 

"  While  the  billows  near  me  roll.  " 

The  tempest  and  storm  from  which  they  had  just  found 
a  hiding-place,  the  figure, — 


Oiarles  Wesley^s  hymn.  441 


r 


"  While  the  tempest  still  is  high; 
Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour  hide 
Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past." 

As  each  was  left  alone  to  seek  safety  in  flight, — 

"  Leave,  Oh,  leave  me  not  alone, 
ttill  support  and  comfort  me." 

Trying  to  cover  their  defenceless  heads  with  their  hands, 

the  lines, — 

"  Cover  my  defenceless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing.  " 

Having  sunk  to  the  ground,  faint  and  weary,   the  third 
verse.     As  this  is  generally  omitted,  we  give  it  entire : — 
•'  Wilt  Thou  not  regard  my  call? 

Wilt  Ihou  not  accept  my  prayer? 
Lo  !  I   sink,  I  faint,  I  fall ! 

Lo!  on  Thee  I  cast  my  care. 
Beach  me  out  Thy  gracious  hand! 
While  I  of  Thy  strength  receive, 
Hoping  against  hope  I  stand. 
Dying,  and  behold  I  live.  " 

Washing  their  wounds  and  bruises  the  thoughts  of  the 

last  verse,  which  is  the  fifth  in  the  original, — 

"  Let  the  healing  streams  abound. 
Make  and  keep  me  pure  within.  " 

And    las.tly,  the  fountain  of  spring-water  from  which 
they  drank,  and  obtained  fresh  life, — 

"  Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art, 
Freely  let  me   take  of  Thee. 
Spring  Thou  up  within  my  heart 
Rise  to  all  eternity.  " 

.These  interesting  facts  were  given  by  Mr.  Pilmore, 
who  was  an  eye-witness,  to  an  intimate  friend,  Mr. 
Hicks,  who  stated  them  to  Rev.  I.  H.  Torrence  of 
Phila.,  fnnu  whom  I  received  them. 

The  same  statement  was  also  previously  given  to  me 
by  the  aged  Rev.  Dr.  Collier,  who  received  them  from 
an  Englishman,  who  was  co-temporary  with  Wesley. 


c 


442  Charles  Wesley's  hymn. 


'Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,"  on  a  Sinking  Ship. 

I  EARS  ago  the  following  touching  incident  was  pub- 
lislied  in  the  Baptist  Reaper  concerning  two  sisters: 
"In  the  midst  of  their  conversation,  at  the  dusk  of 
the  evening,  they  were  alarmed  by  the  stopping  of  the 
boat.  As  the  girls  and  Mr.  Percy,  who  were  the  only 
passengers  on  board,  rushed  to  the  deck,  they  were  as- 
tonished to  see  the  vessel  abandoned  by  the  captain  and 
the  whole  crew,  who  had  just  seated  themselves  in  the 
only  boat  which  had  been  on  board  the  steamer,  and  were 
pulling  for  the  rocky  coast,  only  about  a  mile  distant. 
The  agitation  Avas  fearful  when  the  captain  stated  that 
the  steamer  had  sprung  a  leak,  and  would  sink  in  a  few 
minutes. 

"'Oh,  stop,  stop,  for  heaven's  sake,  and  save  us,  too!' 
cried  Mr.  Percy. 

"'No,'  answered  the  captain,  somewhat  confused,  'the 
boat  will  hold  no  more;  some  one  will  have  to  be  lost.' 

"Mr.  Percy  examined  the  steamer,  and  found  that  she 
was  fast  sinking,  and  that  in  a  very  few  moments  more 
there  would  be  no  possible  Avay  of  escape.  He  looked 
this  way  and  that,  to  find  some  means  of  fleeing  to  the 
shore,  but  he  could  see  no  hope.  At  length  he  found  a 
a  small  hatch  which  could  easily  be  detached,  and  which, 
with  great  skill  of  management,  and  the  kind  favor  of 
Providence,  might  save  one.  He  threw  it  into  the  wa- 
ter and  embarked  upon  it.  It  was  with  great  difficulty 
that  he  kept  afloat,  and  while  he  was  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  steamer,  it  sunk  before  his  eyes.  What  passed 
through  the  minds  of  the  girls,  as  they  met  death  so  sud- 
denly and  so  terribly,  we  can  only  imagine.  The  period 
for  Mr.  Percy's  escape  was  so  short,  and  so  full  of  the 
most  fearful  excitement,  that  he  can  tell  us  but  little 
about  them.     As  the  steamer  was  gradually  sinking  be- 


SINGINO  ON  A  SINKING  VESSEL. 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn.  445 


side  bis  slender  raft,  he  saw  them   standing  on  the  deck, 
with  their  arms  around  each  other,  and  singing : — 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  raging  billows  roll. 
While  the  tempest  still  is  high. 

As  they  were  about  finishing  the  verse, — 

"  All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed  ; 
All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring  ; 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing. '' 

they  sank  to  rise  no  more. 


"Leave,  ah!  leave  me  not  alone. 


fEV.  T.  L.  CUYLER  thus  refers  to  these  lines  in 
"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul.  " 

"  The  one  central,  all-prevailing  idea  of  this  matchless 
hymn  is  the  soul's  yearning  for  its  Saviour.  The  figures 
of  speech  vary,  but  not  the  thought.  In  one  line  we  see 
a  storm-tossed  voyager  crying  out  for  shelter  till  the 
tempest  is  over.  In  another  line  we  see  a  timid,  tearful 
child  nestling  in  a  mothei''s  arms,  with  the  words  fal- 
tering on  its  tongue — 

"  Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly,  " 
"  Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Tliee.  " 

Two  lines  of  the  hymn  have  been  breathed  fervently 
and  often  out  of  bleeding  hearts.  When  we  were  once  in 
the  valley  of  death-sliade,  Avith  one  beautiful  child  in  the 
new-made  grave,  and  the  others  threatened  with  fatal  dis- 
ease, there  was  no  prayer  which  we  said  oftener  than  this  : 
"  Leave,  ah  !  leave  me  not  alone, 
?till  support  and  comfort  me.  " 

We  do  not  doubt  that  tens  of  thousands  of  other  bereaved 
and  wounded  hearts  have  tried  this  piercing  cry,  out  of 
the  depths,   "  Still  support  and  comfort  me !  " 


1/ 


446 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn. 


Singing  Among  tlie  Billows. 

SHIP  was  on  fire  at  sea. 
During  the  alarm  and  confu- 
sion, a  mother  and  babe  were 
crowded  overboard.  She 
clung  to  a  piece  of  the  wreck 
and  drifted  out  upon  the  ocean 
billows. 

Toward  evening  a  vessel 
bound  to  Boston  was  moving 
slowly  along  her  course.  As 
the  captain  was  walking  on  the 
deck,  his  attention  was  called  to  an  object,  some  distance 
off,  which  looked  like  a  person  in  the  water.  As  no 
vessel  was  near,  the  crew  thought  no  one  could  have  fall- 
en overboard.  To  satisfy  their  curiosity,  a  small  boat  was 
sent  towards  the  object. 

To  the  surprise  of  those  who  remained  on  deck,  they 
saw  that  as  the  rowers  approached  the  drifting  speck, 
they  rested  on  their  oars  some  minutes,  then  moved  on 
and  took  in  a  person  or  thing.  As  the  boat's  crew  re- 
turned bringing  the  woman  and  child,  they  explained 
it  all,  by  saying  that  as  they  drew  near  they  heard  sing- 
ing— a  female  voice  sweetly  singing.  So  astonished 
were  they  that  they  ceased  rowing  to  listen,  when  over 
the  waves  came  ringing  the  words  of  the  hymn, — 
"Jesus  lovei"  of  my  soul." 

"What  joy  thrilled  this  mother's  heart  in  finding  that 
while  singing  the  words, — 

"While  the  billows  near  me  roll, 
While  the  temnest  still  is  high  ; 
Hide  me,  Oh  my  Saviour,  hide. 
Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past.  '* 

Jesus  was  extending  a  helping  hand,  and  a  hiding-place. 


c 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn  illustrated.  447 


"Other  refuge  have  I  none.  " 

ifiuRING  the  rebellion  in  Ireland  in  1793,  the  rebels 
(^  had  long  meditated  an  attack  on  the  Moravian  set- 
tlement at  Grace-Hill.  At  length  they  pnt  their 
threat  in  execution,  and  a  large  body  of  them  marched 
to  the  town.  When  they  arrived  there,  they  saw  no  one 
in  the  street  nor  in  the  houses. 

The  brethren  had  long  expected  this  attack,  but  true 
to  their  Christian  profession,  they  would  not  have  re- 
course to  arms  for  their  defence  but  assembled  in  their 
chapel,  and  in  solemn  prayer  besought  Him  in  whom 
they  trusted,  to  be  their  shield  in  the  hour  of  danger. 

The  ruffians,  hitherto  breathing  nothing  but  destruc- 
tion and  slaughter,  were  'struck  with  astonishment  at 
this  novel  sight.  Where  they  expected  an  armed  hand, 
they  saw  it  clasped  in  prayer.  Where  they  expected 
weapon  to  weapon,  and  a  body  armed  for  the  fight,  they 
saw  the  bended  knee.  They  heard  the  j^rayer  for  pro- 
tection; they  heard  the  intended  victims  asking  mercy 
for  their  murderers;  they  heard  the  song  of  praise,  and 
tlie  hymn  of  confidence  in  the  "sure  promise  of  the 
Lord. "  So  impressed  were  they  by  what  they  thus  saw 
and  heard,  that  they  left  the  place  without  doing  any 
harm.    Others  afterward  fled  to  it  as  "  the  city  of  refuge. " 


fS  a  little  bird  was  closely  pursued  by  a  hawk,  it  flew 
for  refuge  into  a  garden,  and  strove  to  hide  among 
the  bushes,  but  the  hawk  followed ;  the  little  bird  again 
flew,  but  again  barely  escaped.  Just,  however,  as  its 
strength  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  as  it  Avould  have 
been  torn  to  pieces  by  its  pursuer,  the  garden-gate  was 
opened,  and  a  poor  old  man  entered;  the  little  bird  flew 
towards  him  and  darted  into  his  breast,  where  it  nestled 
safely  from  the  hawk. 


C 


448 


Charles  Wesley^ s  hymn  illustrated. 


"Jesus  lover  of  my  soul"  in  a  Hurricane. 

0]\IE  twenty  years  ago  a  ter- 
rific gale  swept  along  the  rock 
bound  coast  of  the  British 
Channel.  The  crew  in  charge 
of  a  coasting  vessel  struggled 
hard  and  long  to  reach  some 
shelter,  but  in  vain.  Getting 
into  a  small  boat,  they  left  the 
ship.  "  Then  came  the  last  pull 
for  life;  the  boat  was  swung 
off  and  manned ;  captain  and 
crew  united  in  one  more  brave 
effort,  but  their  toiling  at  the  oar  was  soon  over,  their 
boat  was  swamped. 

"They  seemed  to  have  sunk  together,  ' and  in  death 
they  were  not  divided,'  for,  when  tlie  morning  dawned, 
they  were  found  lying  all  but  side  by  side  under  the 
shelter  of  a  weedy  rock.  The  ship  was  borne  in  upon  a 
heavy  sea  close  under  the  cliff,  where  she  was  jammed 
immovably  between  two  rocks,  and  in  the  morning  the 
ebb  tide  left  her  lying  high  and  dry.  There  was  no 
sign  of  life  on  deck.  One  token  of  peace  and  salvation 
there  was;  it  was  the  captain's  hymn-book  still  lying  on 
the  locker,  closed  upon  the  pencil  with  which  the  good 
man  had  marked  the  last  passages  upon  which  his  eye 
had  rested  before  he  left  the  ship  to  meet  his  fate.  A 
leaf  of  the  page  was  turned  down,  and  there  were  pencil 
lines  in  the  margin  at  several  passages  of  Charles  Wesley's 
precious  hymn  : — 

''Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly." 


G 


W 


Oiarles  Wesley's  hymn  illustrated. 


449 


The  Last  Hymn  on  a  Wrecked  Vessel. 

,-^  7^in^-.>     ^  *^^^  Maria  mail-boat  in  1826 
^J^:^^\'^    five  raissiouaries,  tliree  wives  of 
'  7C-r^nt>  \  V(\      ^-^-t^v    missionaries,  with  several  child- 
^ '^-aO:.^.!': A\\ '^r  _ '  M    ren  and  nurses  were  returning 
to  Antiqua.     In  sight  of  land, 
a  storm  arose,  and   before  its 
fury  the  mail-boat  was  wrecked. 
When  the  storm  arose,  one  of 
the  missionaries'  sons,  a  little 
boy,  gave  out  the  verse  com- 
mencing, 

"  Though  waves  and  sto.rms  go  o'er  my  head.  " 

After  this  had  been  sung,  a  holy  inspiration  came  over 
the  child,  and  he  astonished  the  party  in  the  boat  by  the 
address  he  gave  on  the  ship- wreck  of  Jonah.  A  strange 
feeling  came  over  those  who  heard  the  child.  Mrs.  Jones, 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  missionaries,  tried  to  pray,  but 
could  not.     At  length  she  cried,  "  Lord !  Lord !  help  me." 

Scarcely  had  she  uttered  the  words,  when  she  became 
comjjosed  and  repeated  the  verse : — 

"Jesus  protects;  my  fears  begone." 

In  that  time  of  trouble  and  sorrow,  she  gladdened  her 
own  heart  and  those  of  her  companions,  by  singing  for 
the  last  hymn  most  of  them  heard  on  earth : — 

"When  passing  through  the  watery  deep, 
I  asked  in  faith  His  promised  aid, 
The  waves  an  awful  distance  keep, 
And  shrink  from  my  devoted  head  ; 
Fearless  their  violence  I  dare  ; 
They  cannot  harm  for  God  is  there." 

She  was  the  only  one  w^ho  could  sing  in  that  distressing 
hour,  and  the  only  one  saved  in  that  redeemed  company. 


452 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn  illustrated. 


Q 


Singing  as  death's  "  billows  near  me  roll.  " 

TTERANCES  of  joy,  and  sing- 
ing of  hymns  have  often  char- 
acterized the  departure  of  God's 
faithful  martyrs. 

A  touching  scene  of  this  kind 
occurred  in  Scotland,  during 
the  reign  of  James  II. 

The  king  was  a  Papist,  and 
endeavored  to  compel  his  sub- 
jects to  become  Roman  Catho- 
lics. The  "Covenanters  were 
driven  to  the  bleak  moors  or  mountain  gorges,  where 
alone  they  could  Avorship  the  God  of  their  fathers. 

"Spies  and  informers  were  sent  to  the  meetings,  who 
gave  to  the  government  the  names  of  those  whom  they 
saw  present  on  such  occasions,  and  many  were  thus,  for 
no  other  offences,  dragged  to  the  scaffold,  or  shot  in  the 
open  field." 

Margaret  Wilson  of  AVigtown,  a  girl  eighteen  years 
of  age,  with  her  sister  Agnes,  a  cliikl  of  thirteen,  was  in 
the  habit  of  attending  these  meetiuirs. 

Being  informed  on  by  a  young  man  wliom  they  took 
to  be  a  friend,  they  were  thrown  into  prison.  The  ter- 
ror-stricken father,  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  child- 
ren, hastened  to  Edinburgh,  and  by  paying  a  heavy  sum 
obtained  the  liberation  of  his  younger  daughter. 

But  Margaret,  they  would  not  release.  With  an  old 
woman  named  Mary  McLachlin,  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  who  was  charged  with  the  same  offence,  she  was 
condemned  to  be  drowned. 

The  two  women  received  their  sentence  with  cheerful 
composure. 

On  the  morning  of  May  11th  1665,  the  day  fixed  for 


W 


Charles  Wesley^s  hymn  illustrated.  453 


the  execution  of  this  cruel  sentence,  they  were  led  down 
to  the  shore  under  a  guard  of  soldiers,  commanded  by 
Major  Windham. 

They  were  both  to  be  fastened  to  stakes  along  the 
sea-shore,  so  that  when  the  tide  would  rise  they  would 
be  drowned. 

The  old  woman's  stake  was  fixed  further  in  beyond 
the  other,  so  that  Margaret  should  witness  her  death 
struggles  and  be  induced  to  recant  her  faith. 

Calmly  did  Margaret  watch  the  water  overflowing 
her  fellow-martyr. 

As  some  one  asked  what  she  thought  of  her  now,  she 
replied,  "What  do  I  see  but  Christ  wrestling  there? 
Think  you  we  are  the  sufferers?  No,  it  is  Christ  in  us ; 
for  he  sends  none  on  a  warfare  upon  his  own  charges." 

While  the  tide  was  apjiroaching,  she  mingled  her 
voice  with  the  murmuring  waves  by  singing  the  25th 
Psalm,  beginning  with  the  words : — 

"Let  not  the  errors  of  my  j-outh, 
Nor  sins  remembered  be  , 
In  mercy,  for  thy  goodness  sake, 
0  Lord,  remeuber  me." 

She  then  repeated  with  a  cheerful  voice  the  eighth 
chapter  of  Romans,  ending  with  this  sublime  sentence, 
"For  lam  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor 
angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  pres- 
ent, nor  things  to  come,  nor  height;  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God,  which  is  in  Ciirist  Jesus  our  Lord." 

She  then  prayed,  and  while  thus  engaged,  the  water 
M-hich  had  been  gradually  swelling  around,  covered  her 
head. 

A  monument  was  erected  in  the  neighborhood  shortly 
after  the  Revolution,  to  commemorate  the  heroism  of 
the  two  martyrs. 


'W 


454  Charles  Wcdcy^s  hymn  illustrated. 


The  Drummer  Boy's  Last  Hymn. 

f  CHAPLAIN  in  our  army  one  morning  found  Tcm, 
the  drummer-boy,  a  great  favorite  with  all  the  men, 
and  whom,  because  of  his  sobriety  and  religious  ex- 
ample, they  called  ''  the  young  deacon,"  sitting  under  a 
tree.  At  first  he  thought  him  asleep,  but,  as  he  drew 
near,  the  boy  lifted  up  his  head,  and  he  saw  tears  in  his 
eyes. 

"Well,  Tom,  my  boy,  -what  is  it;  for  I  see  your 
thoughts  are  sad  ?     What  is  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  sir,  I  had  a  dream  last  night,  which  I  can't 
get  out  of  ray  mind. " 

"What  was  it?" 

"  You  know  that  my  little  sister  Mary  is  dead — diea 
when  ten  years  old.  My  mother  was  a  widow,  poor,  but 
good^  She  never  seemed  like  herself  afterwards.  In  a 
year  or  so,  she  died  too ;  and  then  I,  having  no  home, 
and  no  mother,  came  to  the  war.  But  last  night  I 
dreamed  the  war  was  over,  and  I  went  back  to  my  home, 
and  just  before  I  got  to  the  house,  my  mother  and  little 
sister  came  out  to  meet  me.  I  didn't  seem  to  remember 
they  were  dead!  How  glad  they  were!  And  how  my 
mother,  in  her  smiles,  pressed  me  to  her  heart!  Oh! 
sir,  it  was  just  as  real  as  you  are  real  now  !  " 

",Thank  God,  Tom,  that  you  have  such  a  mother,  not 
really  dead,  but  in  heaven,  and  that  you  are  hoping, 
through  Christ,  to  meet  her  again.  "  The  boy  wiped  his 
eyes  and  was  comforted. 

The  next  day  there  was  terrible  fighting,  Tom's  drum 
was  heard  all  day  long,  here  and  there.  Four  times  the 
ground  was  swept  and  occupied  by  the  two  contending 
armies.  But  as  the  night  came  on,  both  paused,  and 
neither  dared  to  go  on   the  field,   lest  the  foe  be  there. 

Tom,  "  the  young  deacon^ "  it  was  known,  was  wounded 


1/ 


Charles  Wesley^s  hymn. 


455 


and  left  on  the  battle-field.  His  company  encamped 
near  the  battle-field.  In  the  evening,  when  the  noise  of 
battle  was  over,  and  all  was  still,  they  heard  a  voice 
singing,  away  oif  on  the  field.  They  felt  sure  it  was 
Tom's  voice.  Softly  and  beautifully  the  words  floated 
ou  the  wings  of  night : — 

"Jesus!  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  billows  near  me  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high. 
Hide  me,  0  my  Saviour  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past ! 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide. 

Oh,  receive  my  soul  at  last. 

"  Other  refuge  have  I  none. 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee  ! 
Leave,  ah  1  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me  !" 

The  voice  stopped  here,  and  there  was  silence.  In  the 
morning  the  soldiers  went  out,  and  found  Tom  sitting  on 
the  ground,  and  leaning  against  a  stump — dead  ! 

This  touching  narrative  is  given  by  The  Sunday- 
School  Times. 

"Can  say  'Hallelujah'  now." 

two  children  were  very  ill  in  the  same  room.     The 
elder  one  was  heard  attempting  to  teach  the  younger 
one  to  pronounce  the  word,  "  Hallelujah, "  but  with- 
out success.     The  little  one  died  before  he  could  repeat 
it. 

When  his  brother  was  told  of  his  death,  he  was  silent 
for  a  moment,  and  then,  looking  up  at  his  mother,  said: 
"Johnny  can  say  'Hallelujah,'  now  mother."  In  a  few 
hours,  the  two  brothers  were  united  in  heaven,  singing 
together  "Hallelujah." 


C 


456 


Clmrles  Wesley's  hymn. 


Effects  of  Singing^  "  Jesus  lover  of  my  soul. " 

f  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  American  Baptist 
Chronicle  furnishes  the  following  interesting  narra- 
tive : — 

"  *  It  is  of  no  nse, '  said  Frank  B impatiently 

throwing  clown  a  book.  '  I  have  gone  through  a  whole 
pile  of  books:  have  listened  to  arguments  enough  to  sat- 
isfy a  whole  regiment  of  lawyers,  but  it  all  remains  a 
mystery  to  me.  I  wonder  whether,  after  all,  there  is 
such  a  thing  in  the  world  as  a  religion  that  will  satisfy 
all  these  restless  longings?'  As  he  paused  a  moment  in 
his  walk  the  sound  of  singing  reached  his  ear;  he  opened 
the  door  and  listened.  It  was  the  children's  nurse  just 
putting  her  young  charge  to  bed.  Clear  and  distinct 
came  the  tone  to  Frank's  ear, — 

"  '  Jesus  !  lover  of  m\  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  raging  billows  roll, 
While  the  tempest  still  is  high.' 

"'Ah!"  thought  the  listener,  Hhat  is  just  what  I 
need.  I  would  give  the  world  to  be  able  to  sing  that 
from  my  soul.' 

"  Still  the  sweet  restful  music  came  floating  down : — 

"  '  Other  refuge  have  I  none. 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee  ! ' 

"  He  could  stand  no  more,  but  going  back  into  the 
room,  he  muttered  : — '  Other  refuge,  indeed !  I  have  not 
even  that ;  and  none  of  these  books  that  I  have  so  pa- 
tiently read  have  given  it  to  me.  All  the  money  that 
I  have  given  away  has  brought  me  no  peace.  I  have 
tried  good  works  and  miserably  failed. ' 

"  '  Thou,  0  Christ,  art  all  I  want. ' 

"  '  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that '  murmured  he.  '  It  would 
be  like  a  beggar  in  his  filthy  garments,  associating  with 


r 


A    YOL.NK   MAN    SUNG  TO    CHRIST. 


Charles  Wesley' a  hymn.  459 


a  king  in  his  royal  robes. '     As  though  it  were  the  echo 

of  his  thought  he  heard  again, — 

"' I  am  all  unrighteousness; 
Vile  and  full  ot  sin  I  am, 
Tho#  art  full  of  truth  and  grace. ' 

"  '  I  Avonder  whether  that  girl  sings  those  words  from 
her  heart, '  thought  he  some  time  afterwards  as  he 
was  preparing  to  go  out.  As  he  was  passing  the  kitchen 
door,  it  was  ajar,  and  he  saw  Mary  sitting  by  the  table, 
holdino;  a  book  so  that  the  dim  ravs  of  the  candle  should 
fall  upon  it ;  and  so  intently  engaged  in  reading,  that, 
except  for  a  low  murmur  you  might  have  thought  her  a 
statue.  '  What  can  she  be  reading  ?  '  thought  he  :  '  some 
novel,  I  suppose,  nothing  else  would  so  fascinate  a  young 
girl  like  her;  then  all  that  singing  amounts  to  nothing 
after  all ! '  And  stealing  behind  her,  he  peeped  over  her 
shoulder.  It  was  a  well  iLsed  Bible,  and  she  was  read- 
ing in  an  undertone, — '  This  is  a  faithful  saying  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners;  of  whom  I  am  the  chief. ' 

"  'That's  me ! '  said  Frank,  unconsciously  aloud. 
"  Mary  dropped  her  book,  and  started,  but  Frank  said 
earnestly,    '  Do  you  really  think,  Mary,  that  Jesus  can 
love  sinners  ?       What  a  love  that  must  be  ! ' 

"  Mary's  eyes  grew  moist,  as  she  said, — '  The  love  of 
Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge.  ' 

"  Here  at  the  feet  of  this  humble  disciple  of  her  Sa- 
viour, did  the  proud  Frank  B drink  in  the  truth  as 

it  is  in  Jesus.  Here  was  his  heart  filled  with  that  peace 
which  he  had  failed  to  find  in  liis  good  works ;  which  he 
had  sought  for  in  vain  in  learned  essays.  It  was  not 
long  before,  in  the  fullness  of  his  joy,  he  could  exclaim, — 
'  Unto  him  that  loved  us,   and  washed  us  from  our  sins 

in  his  own  blood, to  him   be  glory  and  dominion 

for  ever.     Amen  !  '  " 


460 


Charles  Wesley^  hymn. 


It  is  more  glorious. 


Beecher's  Idea  of  "  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul. " 

MONG  the  many  forcible  re- 
marks t\\at  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beec'her  has  made  in  relation 
to  hymnology,  we  give  the 
following;  says  he,  "I  would 
rather  have  written  that  hymn 
of  Wesley's — 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly," 

than  to  have  the  fame  of  all  the 
d  kings  that  ever  sat  on  the  earth. 
It  has  more  power  in  it.  I  would 
rather  be  the  author  of  that  hymn  than  to  hold  the  wealth 
of  the  richest  man  in  New  Yoik.  He  will  die.  He  is 
dead,  and  does  not  know  it.  He  will  pass,  after  a  little 
while,  out  of  men's  thoughts.  What  will  there  be  to 
speak  of  him?  What  will  he  have  done  that  will  stop 
trouble,  or  encourage  hope?  His  money  will  go  to  his 
heirs,  and  they  will  divide  it.  It  is  like  a  stream  di- 
vided and  growing  narrower  by  division.  They  will 
die,  and  it  will  go  to  their  heirs.  Tims  in  a  few  genera- 
tions everything  comes  to  the  ground  again  for  redistri- 
bution. But  that  hymn  will  go  on  singing  until  the  last 
trump  brings  forth  the  angel  band;  and  then,  I  think,  it 
will  mount  up  on  some  lip  to  the  very  presence  of  God. 
I  would  rather  have  written  such  a  hymn  than  to  have 
all  the  treasures  of  the  richest   man  on  the  globe. " 

Of  the  last  hours  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  the  father  of 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  INIrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  says: 
"The  last  indication  of  life,  on  the  day  of  his  death,  was 
a  mute  response  to  his  wife,  repeating — 
'Jesus,  lover  of  mj'  soul, 
.  Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly.  '  " 


r 


0iarles  Wesley^ s  hymn.  4G1 


An  Accident  the  Occasion  of  a  Hymn, 


^N  Charles   AVesley's   "  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems," 
"^  is  the  hymn  that  commences, — 

"  Glory,  and  thanks,  to  God  we  give, " 

which    he  says    was   written     "  after  deliverance  from 
death  by  the  fall  of  a  house." 

George  J.  Stevenson  gives  the  following  account : — 
"  The  accident  which  originated  this  tine  composition 
is  related  in  Ciiarles  Wesley's  journal.  On  his  third 
visit  to  Leeds  he  met  the  society  in  an  old  upper  room, 
which  was  densely  packed,  and  crowds  could  not  gain 
admission.  He  removed  nearer  the  door,  that  those 
without  might  hear,  and  drew  the  people  towards  him. 
Instantly  the  rafters  broke  off  short,  close  to  the  main 
beam,  the  floor  sank,  and  more  than  one  hundred  peo- 
ple fell,  amid  dust  and  ruins,  into  the  room  below. 
One  sister  had  her  arm  broken,  and  set  immediately  ; 
rejoicing  with  joy  unspeakable.  Another,  strong  in 
faith,  was  so  crushed,  that  she  expected  instant  death, 
but  she  was  without  fear,  and  only  said,  in  calm  faith, 
'  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit. '  A  boy  of  eighteen,  who 
had  come  to  make  a  disturbance,  who  struck  several 
women  on  entering,  was  taken  up  roaring,  '  I  will  be 
good  !  I  icill  be  good  !  '  They  got  his  leg  set,  which 
was  broken  in  two  places.  'The  preacher  did  not  fall, 
but  slid  down  softly,  and  lighted  on  his  feet.  His  hand 
was  bruised,  and  part  of  the  skin  rubbed  off  his  head. 
He  lost  his  senses,  but  recovered  them  in  a  moment,  and 
was  filled  with  power  from  above.  He  writes,  'I  lifted 
up  my  head  and  saw  the  people  under  me,  heaps  upon 
heaps.  I  cried  out,  *  Fear  not :  the  Lord  is  with  us  ; 
our  lives  are  all  safe ; '  and  then  gave  out  to  be  sung, — 

"  '  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  '  " 


r 


1/ 


462  Charles  Wesley^ s  hymn. 


CROSS     BEARING  IN  SONG. 


^^  ECISION  for  Jesus,  was  richly 
rewarded  in  the  case  of  the 
daughter  of  an  English  noble- 
man. She  was  led  to  visit  a 
Church  in  London,  and  became 
(  a  devoted  Christian. 

She  was  the  idol  of  her  father 
and  it  was  with  deep  regret  that 
he  noticed  the  change  that  had 
taken  place  in  her  views  and  con- 
^^^-'-^^  duct. 

He  placed  at  her  disposal  large  sums  of  money,  and 
by  threats,  temptations  to  extravagance  in  dress,  by  read- 
ing works  of  fiction,  and  by  traveling  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, yea,  by  every  means,  in  his  power,  he  tried  to  di- 
vert her  mind  from  things  unseen  and  eternal. 

But  her  heart  was  fixed.  She  resolved  that,  by  divine 
help,  nothing  should  displace  her  Saviour  from  the  cen- 
tre of  her  affections. 

At  last  her  father  resolved  upon  one  final  and  desper- 
ate expedient.  A  large  company  of  the  nobility  were  in- 
vited to  his  house.  The  drawing  room  was  crowded. 

It  was  arranged  that  all  the  daughters  of  the  nobility 
present  should  entertain  the  company  with  a  worldly 
song,  accompanied  by  the  piano,  and  her  father  deter- 
mined that  if  his  daughter  refused,  she  should,  as  far  as 
property  was  concerned,  be  ruined !  She  felt  that  if  she 
complied,  she  would  grieve  away  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
be  again  entangled  in  the  world.  If  she  refused,  she  would 
lose  caste  and  be  disgraced  in  society.  Dreadful  was  the 
moment ! 

With  peaceful  confidence  she  aAvaited  the  arrival  of 
her  turn  to  occupy  the  piano  and  sing.  At  last  her  name 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn.  463 


was  called  ;  for  a  moment  all  were  in  silent  suspense  to 
see  how  she  would  act.  , 

Without  hesitation  she  arose,  and  with  calm,  digni- 
fied step,  went  to  the  instrument.  She  s^  at  a  moment 
in  silent  prayer,  and  then  wdth  a  sweetness  tnd  solemnity 
almost  supernatural,  she  sang,  accompan}'*ing  her  voice 
with  notes  on  the  instrument,  the  following  hymn : 

No    room  for  mirth  or  trifling  here, 
For  worldly  hope  or  worldly  fear, 

If  life  so  sooa  is  gone  ! 
If  now  the  Judge  is  at  the    door, 
And  all  mankind  must  stand  before 
The  inexorable  throne. 

No  matter  which  my  thoughts  employ^ 
A  moment's  misery  or  joy  ; 

But,  oh,  when  both  shall  end, 
Where  shall  I  find  my  destined  place? 
Shall  I  my  everlasting  days. 

With  fiends  or  angels  spend  ? 

Nothing  is  worth  a  thought  beneath, 
But  how  1  may  escape  the  death 

That  never,  never  dies. 
How  make  ray  own  election  sure, 
And  when  I  fall  on  earth,  secure  . 

A  mansion  in  the  skies. 

Jesus,  vouchsafe  a  pitying  ray, 
Be  thou  my  guide, be  thou  my  stay, 

To  glorious  happiness ; 
Oh,  write  thy  pardon  on  my  heart, 
And  whensoe'r  1  hence  depart, 

Let  me  depart  in  peace  ! 

The  minstrel  ceased.  The  solemnity  of  eternity  over- 
shadowed the  assembly.  They  dispersed  in  silence,  the 
father  M^ept  aloud.  He  sought  the  instructions  and 
prayers  of  his  dear  child.  His  soul  was  saved,  and  after 
uniting  with  the  church,  he  contributed  to  benevolent 
purposes  over  half  a  million  of  dollars. 


464  Charles  Wesley^s  hymn. 


The  Actress  and  "  lepth  of  Mercy.' 

fN  actress  of  an  English  theatre  Avas  one  day  passing 
through  the  streets,  when  her  attention  was  attracted 
by  the  sound  of  voices  in  a  poor  cottage.  Curiosity 
prompted  her  to  look  in  at  the  open  door,  when  she  saw 
a  few  praying  people,  who  were  singing: 

"  Depth  of  mercy  !  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me  ?  " 

Her  attention  was  riveted  by  these  words,  and  she  was 
invited  to  enter.  After  listening  to  prayer,  she  left,  but 
the  words  of  the  hymn  followed  her.  She  became  truly 
penitent,  and  resolved  to  leave  the  stage.  Telling  the  man- 
ager, he  attempted  to  overcome  her  scruples  by  ridicule, 
then  by  the  loss  he  would  incur,  and  then  as  tlie  last  re- 
quest to  appear  but  once  more  in  a  piece  in  Vv'hich  she 
was  quite  popular.  She  consented  to  this  last  request,  and 
in  the  evening  appeared  at  the  theatre. 

The  play  required  her  first  to  sing  a  song :  and  when  the 
curtain  was  drawn  up,  the  orchestra  began  the  accompa- 
ment.  But  she  stood  as  if  lost  in  thought.  The  music 
ceased,  and,  supposing  her  to  be  overcome  by  embarrass- 
ment, the  band  again  commenced.  A  second  time  they 
paused  for  her  to  begin,  and  still  she  did  not  open  her  lips. 
A  third  time  the  air  was  played,  and  then  with  clasped 
hands,  and  eyes  suifused  with  tears,  she  sang, 

"Depth  of  mercy  !  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me  ? 
Can  my  God  His  wrath  forbear? 
Me,  the  chief  of  sinners,  spare  ?  " 

The  performance  suddenly  ended.  Some  ridiculed,  but 
others  were  led  "  to  consider  their  ways, "  and  cry  for 
mercy  too. 

She  lived  a  consistent  Christian  life  and  at  length 
became  the  wife  of  a  "minister. 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn.  465 


Origin  of  "Come,  0  Thou  all- victorious  Lord." 

fHIS  hymn   was  written  by  Charles   Wesley    while 
preaching  at  Portland,   a  peninsular  section  of  Eng- 
land, noted  for  its  stone  quarries.     Here,  on  this  iso- 
lated spot  lived  many  rude  and  uncared-for  quarry  men 
whose  eternal  Avelfare  lay  near  the  heart  of  ^Vesley. 

Arriving  there  June  4,  1746,  he  commenced  a  series 
of  meetings,  of  which  he  says:  "I  preached  to  a  house- 
ful of  staring,  loving  people,  from  Jer.  i,  20.  Some  wept, 
but  most  looked  quite  unawakened.  At  noon  and  nio:ht 
I  preached  on  the  hill  in  the  midst  of  the  island.  Alost 
of  the  inhabitants  came  to  hear,  but  few  as  yet  feel  the 
burden  of  sin  or  the  want  of  a  Saviour. " 

"Sunday,  June  8. — After  the  evening  service  we  had 
all  the  islanders  that  were  able  to  come.  I  asked,  'Is 
it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by?'  About  half  a 
dozen  answered,  *It  is  nothing  to  us,'  by  turning  their 
backs;  but  the  rest  hearkened  with  greater  signs  of  emotion 
than  I  had  before  observed. 

"Monday,  June  9. — At  Southwell,  some  very  old  men 
attended.  ^  I  distributed  a  few  books  among  them,  rode 
round  the  island,  and  returned  by  noon  to  preach  on  the 
hill,  and  by  night  at  my  lodgings.  Now  the  power  and 
blessing  came.  My  mouth  and  their  ears  were  opened. 
The  rocks  were  broken  in  pieces  and  melted  into  tears  on 
every  side. " 

With  the  sound  of  stone-breaking  echoing  all  around 
him,  and  Jeremiah's  comparison  of  "the  word  .  .  .  like 
a  hammer  that  breaketh  the  rock  in  pieces,"  he  penned 
the  appropriate  lines,  commencing, — 

"  Come,  0  Thou  all  victorious  Lord, 
Th}'  power  to  us  make  known  : 
Strike  with  the  hammer  of  Thy  Word 
And  break  these  hearts -of  stone  !  "  ' 


466 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn. 


c; 


The  Song  in  the  Alley. 

tN  a  narrow  alley  in  Boston,  noted  for  its  poverty  and 
haunts  of  vice,  a  young  gas-fitter  was  sent  one  winter 
evening  in  1873,  to  repair  a  gas  pipe.  Near  by  was 
the  North  End  Mission  Chapel,  surrounded  by  dance 
halls  and  tippling  shops.  The  alley  was  very  foggy  and 
still,  and  the  music  of  harps  and  fiddles  seemed  to  echo 
in  strange  contrast  with  the  inspiring  strains  of  "Coro- 
nation," and  other  familiar  tunes  that  issued  from  the 
house  of  God.  The  young  gas-fitter  was  weary,  and 
paused  at  times  in  this  extra  work  to  listen  to  this  com- 
mingling of  musical  sounds.  At  last  there  was  a  loud 
outburst  of  song  in  the  chapel.  Through  the  crisp  even- 
ing air  echoed  the  words  of  Wesley's  hymn : — 

"Jesus,  the  name  high  over  all, 
In  hell,  or  earth,  or  sky; 
Angels  and  men  before  it  fall, 
And  devils  fear  and  fly. 

"  Jesusjthe  name  to  sinners  dear, — 
The  name  to  sinners  given  ; 
It  scatters  all  their  guilty  fear; 
It  turns  their  hell  to  heaven. 

"  Jesus  the  prisoner's  fetters  breaks, 
And  bruises  Satan's  head  ; 
Power  into  strengthless  souls  He  speaks, 
And  life  into  the  dead.  " 

The  refrain  and  chorus  to  these  stanzas  were  heartily 
sung,  but  he  could  not  distinguish  the  words.  The 
music  affected  him  strangely.  There  was  something 
in  the  tinkling  sounds,  coming  out  of  the  beer  rooms  that 
told  him  of  the  emptiness  of  earth's  follies. 

"I  wish  I  was  a  true  Christian,"  said  the  young  man, 
as  he  resumed  the  work  in  the  basement.  As  the  bell 
was  striking  nine  lie  again  paused,  and  went  to  the  base- 
ment window  and   listened.     The  chapel  seemed  silent. 


1/ 


^- 


Charles  Wesley's  hymn.  467 

but  there  was  a  mingling  of  people,  and  a  murmuring  of 
voices  out  on  the  street,  and  the  tinkhng  of  instrument, 
in  the  dance  halls  still  went  on  He  stood  thm^ong  and 
the  old  thoughts  returned  with  greater  force,  that  there 
was  no  hope  or  promise  in  any  pursuits  or  pleasures  which 
were  destitute  of  God.  The  music  and  the  sound,  of 
lauo-hter  seemed  a  mockery.  He  again  said  as  he  was 
about  to  resume  his  work,  "I  would  like  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian "  Something  detained  him  a  moment  more  at  tl.e 
window.  A  low  bent  form  flitted  through  the  misty  ring 
of  light  at  the  head  of  the  alley,  and  approached  witli  a 
pattering  step  in  the  deep  shadows.  It  was  an  okl  wo- 
man returning  from  the  chapel.  She  was  singing  It  .as 
the  hymn  which  he  had  imperfectly  heard.  He-waited 
for  the  refrain : — 

"  Jesus,  the  name  high  over  all, 

In  hell,  or  earth,   or  sky  ; 

Angels  and  men  before  it  fall, 

And  devils  fear  and  fly. 

0  how  I  love  Jesus, 

0  how  I  love  Jesus, 

0  liow  I  love  Jesus, 

Because  He  first  loved  me." 

The  old  woman  passed  on  and  disappeared  through  one 
of  the  dark  doors  at  the  foot  of  the  al  W.  She  knew  not 
the  ermon  her  song  had  preached.  Then  and  there  the 
yount  man  saw  what  he  wanted  to  make  him  happy 
^vhat^the  world  wants  to  make  it  happy, -the  love  o^ 
Jesus.  On  the  following  day  he  arose  in  the  1  on  g 
Men's  Christian  Association  rooms,  related  substantially 
the  above  story,  and  asked  the  remembrance  of  prayers 
A  o-reat  change  had  come  over  his  feelings  Jesus  had 
bee'i,  as  it  w?re,  revealed  to  him  as  both  his  need  and 
his  Saviour,  in  the  song  in  the  alley.  ^.-    -  , 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  H.  Butterwork  for  this  inter- 
esting narrative. 


468 


C.  Wesley's  hymn. 


The  Death  Song  of  a  Murdered  Christian. 


s;^^ 


Mn 


C 


BOUT  the  year  1854  the  unu- 
sual scene  of  a  court  room  in 
tears  was  Avitnessed  in  Exeter 
Castle,  England.  ■  It  is  thus 
described  by  Rev;  S.  W.  Chris- 
tophers:— "A  good  young  wo- 
man had  been  set  upon  by  a 
villain  on  her  way  from  the  Sun- 
day school,  and  was  left  for  dead 
by  the  roadside.  On  being  dis- 
covered, she  was  restored  to  con- 
sciousness so  far  as  to  identify  the  per])etrator  of  the 
crime  ;  and  then  she  died,  singing  one  of  Charles  Wes- 
ley's triumphant  anthems  of  hoj^e : 

"  How  happy  every  child  of  grace, 
Who  knows  his  sins  forgiven! 
This  earth,  he  cries,  is  not  my  place, 
1  S3el£  my  place  in  heaven  ; 

"A  country  far  from  mortal  sight; — 
Yet,  oh  !    by  faith  I  see 
The  land  of  rest,  the  saints'  delight, 
The  heave II  prepared  for  me. 

"  To  that  Jerusalem  above 
With  singing  I  repair; 
While  in  the  flesh  my  hope  and  love, 
My  heart  and  soul  are  there." 

"  The  counsel  for  the  prosecution  at  the  murderer's  trial, 
in  his  appeal  to  the  jury,  described  the  death  scene,  and 
rehearsed  the  hymn,  a  part  of  which  the  dying  girl  sang 
on  her  upward  flight.  The  judge,  the  jury,  all  but  the 
prisoner,  wept.  Who  could  help  it?  To  hear,  in  that 
solemn  court,  the  youthful  martyr's  song  of  glory  !  and 
such  a  song ! " 


Ml 


C  Wesley's  hi/mn.  469 


A  Mob  Occasioning  a  Hymn. 

tX  many  occasions,  Charles  Wesley  and  his  associates, 
were  assaulted  by  men  of  the  "  baser  sort. "  His  hymn 

"  Worship,  and  thanks,  and  blessing,  etc.,'' 

was  "  written  after  a  deliverance  in  a  tumult, "  and  was 
often  sung  after  similar  occurrences.  Of  the  "  Mob  at 
Devizes"  in  1747,  he  writes  a  long  account,  of  which 
we  give  a  part  from  Mr.  Creamer's  "  Hymnology. 

*'  I  looked  back  and  saw  Mr.  Merton  on  the  ground, 
in  the  midst  of  the  mob,  and  two  bull-dogs  upon  him. 
One  was  first  let  loose,  which  leaped  at  the  horse's  nose ; 
but  the  horse  with  his  foot  beat  him  down.  The  other 
fastened  on  his  nose,  and  hung  there,  till  Mr.  Merton, 
with  the  but  end  of  his  whip  felled  him  to  the  ground. 
Then  the  first  dog  recovering,  flew  at  the  horse's  breast, 
and  fastened  there.  The  beast  reared  up,  and  Mr.  Mer- 
ton slid  gently  off.  The  dog  kept  his  hold  till  the  flesh 
tore  ofi:  Then  some  of  the  men  took  off  the  dogs;  others 
cried,  '  Let  him  alone. '  I  stopped  the  horse,  and 
delivered  him  to  my  friend.  He  remounted,  with 
great  composure,  and  we  rode  on  leisurely,  as  before,  till 
out  of  sight.  Then  we  mended  our  pace,  and  in  an  hour 
came  to  Seend,  having  rode  three  miles  about,  and  by  sev- 
en to  Wrexall.  The  news  of  our  danger  was  got  thither 
before  us,  but  we  brought  the  welcome  tidings  of  our 
own  deliverance.  Now  we  saw  the  hand  of  Providence, 
in  suffering  them  to  turn  out  our  horses ;  that  is  to  send 
them  to  us  against  we  wanted  them.  Again,  how  plain- 
ly w^ere  Aye  overruled  to  send  our  horses  down  the  town, 
\vhich  blinded  the  rioters  without  our  designing  it,  and 
drew  off  their  engines  and  them,  leaving  us  a  free  pas- 
sage to  the  town  !  We  joined  in  hearty  praises  to  our 
Deliverer,  singing  the  hymn, — 

"  '  Worship,  and  thanks,  and  blessing,  etc.  '  " 

r  ft) 


i^ 


470  C  Wesley's  hymn. 


C 


Lo !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land. 


/bHIS  grand  hymn  was  written  on  the  narrow  neck 
^  of  land  in  England  called  Land's  End,  on  the  coast 
of  Cornwall.  It  is  "  between  two  nnbonnded  seas, 
the  Bristol  Channel  to  tlie  north,  and  the  English  Chan- 
nel to  the  south;  or  we  may  add,  the  great  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  the  west,  and  the  German  Ocean  to  the  east, 
all  uniting  at  this  point.  " 

There  is  said  to  be  a  rock  in  the  water  at  the  divid- 
ing point,  so  pivoted  that  it  is  rocketl  to  and  fro  by  tlie 
pressure  of  the  two  oceans. 

AVhat  a  striking  picture  of  the  position  of  an  Eternity 
bound  human  being. 

Rev.  Thomas  Taylor,  a  cotemporary  with  Wesley, 
having  visited  Land's  End  in  1761,  says,  "  Here,  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  wrote, 

'  Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land. '  " 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  a  personal  friend  of  Weslev,  also 
says,  Oct.  11.  1819  :— 

"I  write  this  on  the  last  projecting  point  of  rock  of 
Land's  End,  u])ward  of  two  hundred  feet  perpendicular 
above  the  sea,  which  is  raging  and  roaring  tremendous- 
ly, threatening  destruction  to  myself  and  the  narrow 
point  of  rock  on  which  I  am  sitting.  On  my  right  hand 
is  the  Bristol  Channel,  and  before  me  the  vast  Atlantic 
Ocean.  There  is  not  one  inch  of  land  from  the  phice  on 
which  my  feet  rest  to  the  American  continent.  This  is 
the  place  where  Charles  Wesley  composed  those  fine 


lines. 


"  '  Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
'Twixt  two  nnbounded  seas  I  stand, 

Yet  how  insensible  ! 
A  point  of  time — a  moment's  space — 
Removes  me  to  yon  heavenly  place 
Or  shuts  rae  up  in  hell ! '  " 


C.  Wesley^ s  hymn  illustrated.  471 


"Is  it  true?" 

^        .       .  

(rt:  HE  inquiry  suggested  by  this  hymn  had  great  erapha- 

^  sis  given  to  it  by  a  touching  incident,   related  to  the 

author  by  an  old  physician,  who  kindly  entertained 

me  during  the  delivery  cf  a  course  of  Illustrated  Sermons 

at  Mount  Joy,  Pa. 

Having  asked  him  how  many  of  the  unconverted  he  had 
known,  during  his  life,  to  leave  this  world,  whose  eyes  were 
open  to  see  what  was  before  them,  said  he,  "  I  can 
recall  but  two  cases.  I  hope  never  to  meet  with  another 
like  the  one. 

"A  lady,  taken  suddenly  ill,  sent  for  me.  I  saw  at 
once  that  she  could  not  live  twenty-four  hours,  and  told 
her  so.  Said  she,  'Doctor,  it  cannot  be;  you  must  be 
mistaken.  I'll  send  for  an  older  physician. '  And  so 
she  did.  I  waited  till  he  arrived.  As  he  saw  the  symp- 
toms he  corroborated  what  I  had  said.  *  Oh  !  said  she,  is 
it  truef     True,  that  in  less  than  a  day,  I  shall  leave  this 

world,   I  shall  be  in  eternity  ?     Dr.  S ,   as   you 

have  told  me  the  truth,  stay  with  me  till  I  am  gone. ' 
From  that  time  on  she  shrieked  out  continually,  '  E-ter- 
ni-ty,  E-ter-ni-ty.  Oh !  to  think  I  am  so  near  eternity ! ' 
I  talked  and  prayed  with  her,  but  my  voice  could  not 
be  heard  amid  her  repeated  cries  of  the  word,  'Eternity! 
O  Eternity ! ' 

"  The  house  was  on  a  high  hill.  There  were  no  shades 
or  shutters  to  the  windows.  And  to  add  still  further  to 
the  impressiveness  of  the  occasion,  a  thunder  shower  arose 
during  the  night.  While  her  glaring  eyes  and  quivering 
lips  were  evincing  the  agony  of  soul  within,  the  lightning 
flashes  Avere  intensifying  the  scene  without.  While  to 
the  thunder's  roar,  she  would  respond  with  the  bitter  cry 
of  'Eternity!  O  Eternity!'  and  with  these  words  upon 
her  lips,  she  passed  away. " 


472 


E.  M.  Long's  hymn. 


PASSING  AWAY. 

Words  and  Muiic  hy  Bev.  E.  M.  Long. 


^? 


^^EiEiE 


^^ 


'^^ 


123= 


1.  "Watch  and  pray,  watch   aud  pixiy,"  Uear  the    lov  -  ing     Sa  -  viour    say, 


ra^^^i 


5E 


:1*=F3 


i±E£ 


Such    an     hour     when  all       is  bright,  Death  may  come  with  shades  of   nisht. 


m:-=^^^=J-=e-- 


3E, 


g,__. 


Chorus. 


'i±^-=i=M^E^^z 


g^E« 


laeb* 


1   :   •^    * •! al »(-  - 


S       m      M 


Time     is     pass  -  ing,  pass  -  ing  quick    a-way,  Beliold,  the  Bridegroom  cometh. 


L— r — r — g= 


pp. 


— I* — I* — ' ^ — \ 


And  the     judg 


ife^^^ 


ment     day,      And 

,  IS   h  I  c 1— 


then 


^«-*^ 


ty. 


-^-^ 


2.     Holy  One,  Holy  One,  1  Plothe  me  now,  that  T  may  rise, 

Throutrh  the  merits  of  thy  Son,         Robed  in  -white,  to  yonder  skies. 
Grant,  that  when   life's  storms  are 

I  may  dwell  with  thee  at  last.  [past.  4.     Make  me  pnre,  T)ure  within, 

Cleanse  my  soul  from  every  sin, 
3      Spirit,  come!  Spirit,  come!  I  shall  then  prepared  be. 

Let  thy  perfect  work  be  come ;         I  For  a  long  eternity. 


E.  31.  Long's  hymn  illustrated. 


Passing  Away. 

ERY  solemn  was  the  incident 
that  attended  the  singing  of  this 
hymn,  and  illustrated  its  senti- 
ments. Soon  after  its  composi- 
tion I  was  delivering  a  course 
of  "  Illustrated  Sermons"  at 
Newport,  Pa. 

At  the  first  service  my  last 
painting  was  an  illustration  of 
the  words,  "  Time  No  Longer,  " 
by  which  I  sought  to  impress 
the  audience  with  our  momentary  nearness  to  eternity, 
and  referred  to  the  many  persons  I  had  met  with,  who,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  had  passed  away.  Then  to  give 
emphasis  to  these  thoughts,  I  closed  by  singing  the 
hymn,   "Passing  Away." 

Three  pews  from  the  pulpit  sat  one  whose' eyes  saw  the 
words,  shining  in  gilt,  before  him,  "Time  No  Longer," 
whose  ears  heard  my  voice,  singing  the  words, 

"  Such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not, 
Death  may  come  a  thief  at  night.  " 

After  walking  home  from  church,  a  distance  of  about 
two  squares,  he  ascended  the  porch  of  his  house  with  a 
firm  step.  Placing  his  hand  on  the  door  latch,  he  was 
heard  to  exclaim,  "  Don't  let  me  fall.  "  Caught  by  the 
arms  of  his  wife,  he  was  laid  down — a  corpse. 

The  next  morning  I  was  awakened  from  my  slumbers 
by  the  tolling  of  the  church  bell,  which  startled  the  vil- 
lage by  the  news,  "  George  Mickey  dropped  dead  on  his 
way  home  from  church    last  night.  " 

He  had  eaten  a  hearty  supper,  and  spoken  of  his  health 
as  being  unusually  good.  Surely,  "  there  is  but  a  step 
between  me  and  death. " 


C 


w 


474  C  Wesley^ s  hymn  illustrated. 


"Eternal  Things  Impress." 

fHESE  words  occur  in  the  second  verse  of 
"  Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land. " 

To  impress  eternal  things,  a  lady  wrote  on  a  card,  and 
placed  it  on  the  top  of  an  hour-glass  in  her  garden-house, 
the  following  simple  verse  from  the  poems  of  J.  Clare. 
It  was  when  the  flowers  were  in  their  highest  glory: 

"  To  think  of  summers  yet  to  come, 
That  I  ara  not  to  see  ! 
To  think  a  weed  is  j'et  to  bloom 
From  dust  that  I  shall  be!  " 

The  next  morning  she  found  the  following  lines,  in 
jiencil,  on  the  back  of  the  same  card : 

"  To  think  when  heaven  and  earth  are  fled 

And  times  and  seasons  o'er, 
Whea  all  that  can  die  shall  be  dead 

That  1  must  die  no  more  I 
0  where  will  then  my  portion  be  I 
Where  shall  I  spend  eterniy?" 

An  impressive  figure  is  contained  in  the  following : — 

If  all  the  water  flowing  round  this  earth, 

And  with  ten  thousand  times  as  much,  wera  pent 

In  a  huge  cistern,  whose  unwieldly  bulk 

The  whole  contained  ;  but  at  one  leaky  pore 

At  certain  periods  should  one  drop  dispense; 

And  at  the  distance  often  thousand  years, 

Of  intervening  time,  those  periods  fix; 

— Yet  sooner  twice  ten  thousand  times  the  whole, 

Thus  drop  by  drop  shall  draw  the  ocean  dry. 

Than  the  duration  of  eternity, 

One  moment  of  its  endless   term  abridge  ! 

Ihen  what  avails  it,  whetlier  here  we  t:iste 

Life's  transient  joys  or  heart-corroding  cares. 

If  we,  in  peace  and  triumph  end  our  race  ; 

A  race  how  like  the  shuttle's  rapid  flight, 

Or  faint  illusion  of  a  morning  dream  1 " 


C.  Wesley^s  hymn.  475 


"  Give  me  the  enlarged  desire. " 

fHIS  is  one  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns,  in  which  he 
gives  expression  to  those  heart-yearnings  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  growing  Christian,  who  would  be  "  tilled 
with  all  the  fullness  of  God.  " 

This  hymn  is  also  associated  with  the  memory  of  John 
Fletcher,  who  was  the  Head-Master  of  Lady  Hunting- 
don's College  at  Trevecca,  for  the  education  of  young 
ministers,  of  which  Mr.  Fletcher  was  the  President. 

Referring  to  his  devotion,   Mr.  Benson  says:  "After 
speaking  a  while  in  the  school-room,  he  used  frequently 
to  say,  'As  many  of  you  as  are  athirst  for  this  fullness  of 
the  Spirit,  follow  me  into  my  room. '     On  this,  many  of 
us  have  instantly  followed  him,  and  there  continued  for 
two  or  three  hours,  wrestling  like  Jacob  for  a  blessing, 
praying  one  after  the  other  till  we  could   bear  to  kneel 
no  longer.     This  was  not  done  once  or  twice,  but  many 
times.     And  I  have  sometimes  seen  him  on  these  occa- 
sions, once  in  particular,  so  filled   with  the  love  of  God 
that  he  could  contain  no  more,  but  cried  out,  'O  my  God, 
withhold   thy  hand,   or  the  vessel   will  burst. '     But  he 
afterward  told  me  he  was  afraid  he  had  grieved  the  Spirit 
of  God,   and  that  he  ought  rather  to  have  prayed  that 
tlie  Lord  would  have  enlarged  the  vessel,  that  the  soul 
might  have  no  further    interruption  to  the  enjoyment 
of  the  Supreme  God.     For,  as  Mr.  Wesley  has  observed, 
the  proper  prayer  on  such  an  occasion  would  have  been : — 

'Give  me  the  enlarged  desire, 

And  open,  Lord,  my  soul, 
Thy  own  fullness  to  require 

And  comprehend  the  whole. 
Stretch  my  faith's  capacity 

Wider  and  yet  wider  still ; 
Then  with  mH  that  is  in  Thee 

My  ravished  spirit  fill. '  " 


r 


W 


476  C  Wesley^s  hymn. 


An  Evening  Funeral  Song. 

^^MONG   the   Cornish  miners   in  England  they  are 
(^  accustomed  to  sing  on   the  way  to  the  church  and 

"^    from    the    church    to  tlie  grave  at  the  funeral   of  a 
comrade.     Rev.  S.  W.  Christophers  says: — 

''Some -few  years  ago,  of  a  summer's  evening,  a  long 
crowd  was  seen  passing  down  the  church  path  from  the 
town,  pressing  around  a  bier  as  if  they  would  guard  it 
in  front,  flank,  an<l  rear,  and  singing  as  they  moved. 

"  The  strain  was  measured  like  tiieir  steps,  and  it  was 
in  the  minor  key,  although  it  seemed  at  times  more  like 
a  triumphant  shout  than  a  wail  of  sorrow.  They  were 
keeping  up  the  beautiful  custom  of  their  fathers,  the  even- 
ing funeral,  and  the  burial  hymn  from  the  house  of  be- 
reavement to  the  grave.  They  were  singing  one  of  their 
tunes  to  one  of  Charles  Wesley's  grandest  hymns : — 

"  Rejoice  for  a  brother  deceased, 

Our  loss  is  his  infinite  gain  ; 
A  soul  out  of  prison  released, 

And  free  from  its  bodily  chain; 
With  sonp:s  let  us  follow  his  flight 

And  mount  with  his  spirit  above, 
Escaped  to   the  mansions  of  light, 

And  lodged  in  the  Eden  of  luvc." 

"  The  bier  and  the  train  passed  into  the  ancient  sanc- 
tuary, by  and  by  again  to  appear,  moving  towards 
the  grave.  The  benediction  had  scarcely  closed  the  fu- 
neral service  before  the  devout  multitude  once  more 
lifted  up  its  voice — it  was  a  full,  a  mighty  voice — and, 
pressing  around  the  open  grave,  they  uttered  in  thrilling 
tones  that  glowing  and  impassioned  hymn  that  seems  to 
melt  the  earthy  and  the  heavenly  into  one — 

"  Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 
That  have  obtained  the  prize." 


r 


C.  Wesley^  hymn.  477 


r 


"Why,  I  shall  Sing  Forever!" 

fHUS  spake  a  young  Cornish  miner.  Shortly  before  he 
had  heartily  joined  in  singing  at  the  evening  burial 

of  a  comrade,  not  thinking,  perhaps  that  his  burial  song 
should  soon  follow.  But  so  it  was.  On  his  triumphant 
death  bed  he  remarked  : 

"  I  am  going !  said  he,  "  I  am  going!  going  early;  but 
God  has  brightened  my  short  life  into  a  full  one!  Oh, 
those  hymns !  they  have  taught  me  to  live  in  the  light 
of  the  future !  They  have  been  my  '  songs  in  the  house 
of  my  pilgrimage' !  How  often  while  I  have  sung  them 
down  deep  in  the  mine  has  the  darkness  been  light  about 
me !  Never,  since  I  learnt  to  praise  God  from  my  heart, 
have  I  begun  to  work  in  the  rock  for  blasting,  without 
stopping  a  moment  to  ask  myself,  Now,  if  the  hole 
should  go  off  about  me,  am  I  ready  for  heaven  ?  Some- 
times, sir,  there  has  been  a  little  shrinking  and  some 
doubt,  and  then  I  have  dropped  on  my  knees,  and  ask- 
ed God  to  bless  me  before  I  took  one  stroke;  and  never 
did  I  pray  in  vain ;  my  prayer  has  always  passed  into 
praise.  And  those  blessed  hymns  have  come  bursting 
from  my  heart  and  lips  as  I  have  toiled  at  the  point  of 
death ! 

"  Oh,  sir  !  do  you  remember  our  singing  at  our  last  fu- 
neral?' 'Yes,'  it  was  replied,  'and  some  thought 
then,  that  you  would  never  sing  again!'  '  Never  sing 
again,  sir  1  why,  I  shall  sing  for  ever  !  Oil  that  glorious 
hymn,  let  us  sing  it  now  ! '      And  he  began — 

"  Oh  !  that  we  now  might  grasp  oiir  Guide  I 
Oh  !  that  the  word  were  given  ! 
Come,  Lord  of  Hosts  !  the  waves  divide, 
And  land  us — Land — me — now  in — 

"  Heaven ! "   he  would  have  sung,    but  he  was  gone ! 
He  had  joined  another  choir  ! 


478  John  Wesley. 

John  "Wesley  and  his  Hymns. 

fHE  number  of  hymns  composed  by  Rev.  John  Wesley 
is  not  exactly  known,  as   at  first  he  and  his  brother 
"agreed    not  to  distinguish   their   hymns  from  each 
other."     Some  thirty  are  ascribed  to  him  in  the  Meth- 
odist hymn-book.     Of  these  the  best  are  his  translations 
from  the  German,  such  as 

"Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness,'' 
"  Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs."' 

In  person,  AVesley  has  been  described  as  "rather 
below  the  middle  size,  but  beautifully  proportioned,  with 
a  forehead  clear  and  smooth,  a  bright  penetrating  eye, 
and  a  lovely  face,  which  retained  the  freshness  of  its 
complexion  to  the  latest  period  of  his  life." 

Our  limits  prevent  us  from  going  into  the  many  in- 
teresting details  of  his  eventful  life,  neither  is  it  necessary, 
since  his  career  and  great  achievements,  as  the  founder 
of  Methodism,  have  made  his  history  familiar  to  all. 

John  Wesley  was  born  June,  17th,  1703,  and  born 
again,  as  he  says,  May  24,  1738.  Although  he  had  en- 
tered the  ministry,  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  preach  to  the 
settlers  and  Indians  in  America,  yet  he  himself  was  igno- 
rant of  the  way  of  life.  On  the  failure  of  his  mission, 
and  his  return  to  London,  he  met  with  the  Moravians, 
and  especially  Peter  Boehler,  and  by  him,  says  Wesley, 
"I  was  clearly  convinced  of  unbelief,  and  of  the  want  of 
that  faith  whereby  aLne  we  are  saved."  On  the  evening 
of  the  day  referred  to,  when  listening  to  the  reading  of 
Luther's  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  he  says: 
"While  he  was  describing  the  change,  which  God  works 
in  the  heart,  through  faith  in  Christ,  I  felt  my  heart 
strangely  warmed ;  I  felt  I  did  trust  in  Christ,  Christ 
alone,  for  salvation ;  and  an  assurance  was  given  me  that  he 
had  taken  away  my  sins,  even  mineJ' 


o 


^n^    Ccy  ^^ 


John  Wesley.  481 


As  in  his  childhood,  every  possible  avenue  and  means 
were  made  use  of  to  save  him  from  his  father's  burning 
house,  so  he  thought  it  but  proper,  that  in  saving  souls 
from  eternal  burnings,  every  available  instrumentality 
shoidd  be  employed.  Hence  his  frequent  use  of  song. 
A  church  at  New  Castle  grew  out  of  a  revival,  that 
started  among  the  crowd  that  were  drawn  together  by  his 
singing  a  Psalm  in  the  street,  on  a  Sunday  morning. 

The  familiar  hymn,  entitled  "  The  Pilgrim,"  is  con- 
sidered an  epitome  of  his  autobiography.     It  commences, 

*'  How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot! 
How  free  from  every  anxious  thought, 

Fro  .11  worldly  hope  and  fear  ! 
Confined  to  neither  court  not  cell, 
His  soul  disdains  on  earth  to  dwell. 

He  only  sojourns  here." 

Mr.  Creamer  says:  "This  hymn  was  published  about 
five  years  before  his  unhappy  union  with  his  wife,  at  a 
period  when  he  had  probably  no  intention  of  ever  enter- 
ing the  marriage  state,  and  breathes  only  the  language  of 
one,  who  had  devoted  to  God,  as  he  had  done,  his  ease, 
his  time,  his  life,  and  his  reputation."  This  fact  gives 
a  clue  to  a  verse  now  generally  omitted,  that  says, 

"  I  have  no  sharer  of  my  heart, 
To  rob  my  Saviour  of  a  part. 

And  desecrate  the  whole  : 
Only  betrothed  to  Christ  am  I, 
And  wait  his  coming  from  the  sky, 

To  wed  my  happy  soul." 

Wesley's  busy  life  closed  on  the  2nd  of  March,  1791, 
he  being  then  in  the  eighty-eight  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
sixty-fifth  of  his  ministry.  After  the  spirit  had  left  its 
clay  tenement,  his  friends  gathered  around  his  cold  re- 
mains and  sang: — 

"Waiting  to  receive  thy  spirit, 
Lo  !  the  Saviour  stands  above  ; 
Shows  the  purchase  of  his  merit, 
lleaches  out  the  crown  of  love." 


482 


Isaac  Watts. 


C 


"I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've  breath. " 

tOHN  Wesley  improved  tlie  first  line  of  this  express- 
ive hymn  of  Watts,  and  illustrated  its  sentiments  at 
last.  It  is  associated  with  the  tender  scenes  of  his  death- 
bed. 

Stevenson  states  that  on  Monday,  February  28,  1791, 
he  was  exceedingly  weak,  slept  much,  and  spoke  but 
little.  On  Tuesday  morning  he  sang  two  verses  of  a 
hymn,  then,  lying  still,  as  if  to  recover  strength,  he  called 
for  pen  and  ink,  but  could  not  write.  Miss  Ritchie  pro- 
posed to  write  for  him,  and  asked  Avhat  to  say.  Ho 
replied,  "Nothing,  but  that  God  is  with  us."  In  the 
forenoon  he  said,  "I  will  get  up. "  While  they  were 
preparing  his  clothes,  he  broke  out  in  a  manner  that  as- 
tonished all  who  were  about  him  in  singing: — 

"  I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  IVe  breath  ; 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers; 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life,  and  thought,  and  being  last, 
Ur  immortality  endures." 

Having  finished  the  verse,  and  sitting  upon  a  chair,  they 
observed  him  change  for  death.  But  he,  regardless  cf 
his  body,  said  with  a  Aveak  voice,  "Lord,  Thou  givest 
strength. "     He  then  sung  his   brother's  doxology : — 

:'To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
Who  sweetly  all  agree.  " 

Here  his  voice  failed.  After  gasping  for  breath  he  said, 
"  Now  we  have  done  all. "  He  was  then  laid  on  the  bed, 
from  which  he  rose  no  more.  After  a  while  he  exclaimed, 
"  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us, "  and  until  his  last 
breath  he  kept  trying  to  repeat  the  hymn  of  Watts,  but 
could  only  get  out  the  words : — 

"  I'll  praise,  I'll  praise.  " 


w 


John  Wesley  &  hymn.  483 


Wesleys  Hymn  and  Foolish  Dick. 

ESLEY'S  "Pilgrim's  Hymn"  seemed  just  suited  to 
one  who  has  been  widely  known  as  "Foolish  Dick." 
Though  but  half-witted  in  early  life,  he  became  "  wise 
unto  salvation."  While  Dick  was  going  for  water,  one 
morning,  an  old  Christian,  leaning  over  his  garden  gate, 
remarked:  "So  you  are  going  to  the  well  for  water, 
Dick?"  "Yes,  sir."  "AVell,  Dick,  the  woman  of  Sa- 
maria found  Jesus  at  the  well."  "Did she,  sir?"  "Yes, 
Dick."  This  conversation  suggested  this  thought,  as  he 
went  on  his  way :  "  Why  may  I  not  find  Him  there  too ! " 
While  at  the  well,  his  heart  ascended  in  ejaculations, 
"Oh!  that  I  could  find  Him!  AVill  He  come  to  me?" 
He,  who  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the 
smoking  flax,  heard  these  soul  breathings;  the  fountain 
of  eternal  life  began  to  well  up  within,  and  his  heart 
soon  became  so  full  of  peace  and  joy,  that  he  could  not 
refrain  from  telling  others  what  the  Lord  had  done  for 
him.  His  conversion  seemed  to  add  strength  to  his  fac- 
ulties of  memory  and  speech.  When  a  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture, or  a  hymn  was  read  in  his  hearing,  it  would  im- 
print itself  upon  his  mind  in  such  a  way  that  he  could 
retain  and  reproduce  it.  Constrained  by  love  to  Christ 
and  perishing  souls,  he  commenced  to  itinerate  as  an 
Evangelist.  Though  he  went  without  purse  or  scrip, 
yet  he  never  lacked  food  or  clothing,  and  many  were  the 
seals  to  his  ministry.  Wesley's  hymn  was  his  favorite, 
and  in  the  dwellings  that  gave  him  a  welcome,  he  would 
sit,  and  waving  to  and  fro,  would  sing  the  favorite  lines : — 

"No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  this  wilderness; 

A  poor  waj'faring  man, 
T  lodge  awhile  in  tents  below ; 
Or  gladly  wander  to  and  fro, 

Till  I  my  Canaan  gain." 


484 


Wesley's  hymn. 


Singing  at  the  Table. 

PENING  the  lips  in  songs  of 
j)raise  to  God  is  but  "  a  reason- 
able service  "  after  those  lips 
have   been  fed  by  his  hand. 

After  participating  in  the 
feast  of  the  passover,  we  are  told 
that  Jesus  and  his  diciples 
"  sung  a  hymn.  "  This  consist- 
ed, doubtless,  of  the  six  Psalms 
113 — 118,  that  were  usually 
sung  at  their  tables  on  such 
occasions. 

In  many  of  the  Germ.an  hymn  books,  we  find  "  Table 
Hymns.  "  They  are  used  at  each  meal. 

A  writer,  speaking  of  the  relics  of  Mr.  Wesley,  remain- 
ing in  his  parsonage,  such  as  the  old  chair  and  book  case, 
says,  "  Among  the  rest  an  old  tea  pot,  that  holds  a  gal- 
lon. We  were  told  that  this  was  made  to  order  for  him. 
On  one  side  is  inscribed,  burnt  in  the  material  by  the 
potter, 

'Be  present  at  our  table,  Lord 
Be  here  and  everywhere  adored, 

Thy  creatures  bless,  and  grant  that  we 
May  feast  in  Paradise  with  Thee.  ' 

These  lines  were  always  sung  before  sitting  down  to 
tea  with  his  helpers.  On  the  other  side  of  this  ancient 
teapot,  were  the  words  sung  on  rising  from  the  table, 
and  read  thus, 

'  We  thank  thee.  Lord,  for  this  our  food, 
Much  more  because  of  Jesus'  blood  ; 

Let  manna  to  our  souls  be  given. 
The  bread  of  life  sent  down  from  heaven.' 

These  words  are  Still  used  at  the  Methodist  Public 
Tea  meetings,  and  often  in  private  families.  " 


r 


w 


Susannah  Wesley. 


485 


C: 


Singings  a  Hymn  the  Moment  afcer  Death. 

4»t  R.  D.  E.  McNab  gives  an  account  of  a  friend  of  his, 
c^  a  young  minister,  who,  while  lying  on  his  death- 
bed, would  let  no  one  weep  for  him.  He  bade  the 
friend  who  waited  on  him  to  be  sure  the  moment  he  died 
to  sing  a  hymn,  and  he  told  her  the  hymn  to  sing.  She 
kept  her  promise :  as  the  gentle  hand  was  shutting  the 
cold  eyelids  on  the  eyes  from  which  all  light  had  at  last 
gone  out,  she  sang,  though  with  a  choked  voice  and  the 
tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks  : — 

"  Farewell  laortality — 
Jesus  is  aiine ; 
Welcome  eternity — 

Jesus  is  mine ; 
He  my  redemption  is, 
Wisdom  and  righteousness, 
Life,  liglit  and  holiness — 
Jesus  is  mine.  " 


fUSANNAH  WESLEY  was  the  mother  of  nineteen 
children,    among    whom    w'here   John  and   Charles 
the  founders  of  Methodism.     When   on  her  death- 
bed, she  said  among   her  last  utterances,   "Children,  as 
soon  as  I  am  released,  sing  a  song  of  praise  to  God. " 

As  the  spirit  was  bursting  its  clay  tenement,  they  en- 
circled her  bed  in  prayer,  and  as  soon  as  her  last  breath 
Avas  drawn,  they  complied  with  her  last  request,  and  sung 
a  song  of  praise : — 

"  Hosannah  to  Jesus  on  high  ! 
Another  has  entered  her  rest: 
Another  has  'scaped  to  the  sky 
And  lodged  in  Immanuel's  breast. 
■  The  soul  of  our  mother  is  gone 
To  heighten  the  triumph  above ; 
Exalted  to  Jesus'  throne 
And  clasped  in  the  arms  of  his  love.  " 


w 


r 


486  Henry  Kirk  White. 


Henry  Kirk  White  and  his  Hymns. 

fENRY  KIRK  WHITE  was  born  in  1785,  at  Not- 
tingham. His  father  was  a  butcher,  and  wished 
Henry  to  follow  the  same  occupation,  but  he,  being 
a  "book- worm,"  soon  lost  all  relish  for  carrying  around 
the  butcher's  basket.  At  fourteen  he  was  placed  at  a 
stocking-loom ;  but  his  thirst  for  knowledge  rendered  him 
so  unhappy  that  the  mother  induced  the  father  to  give 
his  consent  to  the  study  of  law. 

With  such  great  avidity  he  pursued  this,  as  well  as 
the  study  of  Greek,  Latin,  Italian,  Spanish  and  Portu- 
gese, that  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  so  distinguish- 
ed for  his  studies  that  he  received  from  his  preceptor  a 
silver  medal  and  other  prizes. 

At  seventeen  he  was  already  prominent  as  a  writer  for 
the  periodicals  of  the  day,  and  issued  a  volume  of  poems. 

Although  he  had  made  such  rapid  advances  in  the 
field  of  literature,  he  was  a  stranger  to  grace,  and  even 
pretended  to  disbelieve  the  Bible  and  its  Author.  Dur- 
ing this  period,  an  intimate  companion.  Almond,  was 
led  by  Providence  to  witness  a  death-bed  scene  that 
opened  his  eyes  to  his  danger,  and  caused  him  to  flee  to 
Christ  for  refuge. 

As  Almond  now  seemed  to  shrink  from  his  former 
friend  because  of  his  infidel  scoffings.  White  wished  to 
ascertain  the  cause,  and  when  it  was  stated,  he  felt  much 
mortified,  became  penitent,  and  was  assisted  in  find- 
iug  the  way  to  the  cross  by  reading  "Scott's  Force  of 
Truth,"  which  his  friend  had  introduced  to  him. 

After  realizing  the  blessing  of  pardon  and  peace,  he 
felt  anxious  to  make  his  Saviour  known  to  others.  To 
this  end  he  discontinued  the  study  of  law  and  prepared 
for  the  gospel  ministry.  About  this  time  he  also  wrote 
the  well-known  hymn  commencing, — 


Kirk  White's  hymn  illustrated,  489 


"  When  marshaled  on  the  nightly  train, 
The  glittering  host  bestud  the  sky, 
One  star  alone  of  all  the  train 
Can  fix  the  sinner's  wandering  eye.  " 

Tills  hymn  vividly  describes  the  author's   conversion. 
His  experience  on  the  sea  of  skepticism  he  portrays  in 
the  third  verse: — 

"  Once  on  the  raging  seas  T  rode, 

The  storm  was  loud,  the  night  was    dark.  " 

In  the   hymn   commencing — 

"  The  Lord  our  God  is  clothed  with  might,  " 
is  found  a  much  admired  verse. 

"  Howl,  winds  of  night !  your  force  combine  \ 
Without  His  high  behest. 
Ye  shall  not,  in  the  mountain-pine. 
Disturb  the  sparrow's  nest.  " 

His  hymn  for  evening  family  worship  is  ojEl  repeated 
in  Eno-land  and  America: — 

o 

"  0  Lord  !  another  day  has  flown  ; 
And  we,  a  lowly  band, 
Are  met  once  more  before  Thy  throne 
To  bless  Thy  fostering  hand.  " 

Through  his  intense  application  to  study,  without  rest 
or  intermission  by  day  or  night,  his  bodily  strength  gave 
way,  and  he  sank  into  an  untimely  grave  in  1806,  when 
but  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

'•  Pale  o'er  his  lamp,  and  in  his  cell  retired 
The  martyr-student  faded  and  expired.  " 

In  one  of  his  poems  he  seems  to  lament  his  own  early 
departure  in  the  line : — 

"  Fifty  years  hence,  and  who  shall  hear  of  Henry  ?  " 
The  fifty  years  have  gone,  and  yet  Henry  is  not  forgot- 
ten, and  will  not  be  as  long  as  the  church  loves  to  repeat 
the  ten  precious  hymns  he  bequeathed  her  as  his  legacy. 
"  Oh,  Tvhat  a  noble  heart  was  here  undone. 
When  scieuce  self-destroyed  her  favorite  son  !  " 


W 


490 


William  Williams. 


C 


Let  the  fiery,  cloudy  pillar, 
Lead  me  all  my  journey  through. 


EPENDENT  upon  heavenly  guidance 
for  every  step  taken  in  life's  journey,  how  natural 
to  God's  Israel  is  the  prayer,  that  heads  these  lines,  taken 
from  the  grand  old  hymn : — 

"Guide  me,  0  thou  Great  Jehovah." 

As  this  hymn  is  so  often  repeated,  our  readers  will 
gladly  welcome  some  acquaintance  with  its  author,  the 
Rev.  William  Williams,  a  celebrated  Welsh  poet. 

He  was  born  at  Cefncyoed,  Carmarthenshire,  Wales, 
in  1717.  He  commenced  the  study  of  medicine,  after 
securing  a  good  education.  But  after  hearing  the  gospel 
from  the  lips  of  Howell  Harris  in  Talgarth  churchyard. 


W 


William  Williams.  491 


he  was  led  to  Christ,  and  induced  to  prepare  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  Of  his  conversion  his  biographer  says : 
"His  convictions  of  sin  were  deep  and  alarming;  but  his 
subsequent  joy  proportionably  high,"  He  was  ordained 
deacon  in  the  English  church  in  his  twenty-third  year, 
but  being  encouraged  by  Whitefield  and  Lady  Hunting- 
don to  become  an  itinerant  minister,  he  M'as  refused  "full 
orders,"  and  so  united  with  the  Calvinistic  Methodists. 
His  labors  were  ardent  and  incessant,  continuing  without 
abatement  for  half  a  century.  It  is  said  that  he  "  trav- 
elled on  an  average  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  a  year,  for  forty-three  years,  when  there  were  no 
railroads  and  but  few  stage  coaches." 

He  issued  a  number  of  books,  containing  his  hymns, 
entitled  as  follows:  "Alleluia,"  "The  Sea  of  Glass," 
".Visible  Farewell ;  Welcome  to  Invisible  Things,"  "  Al- 
leluia again ; "  and  in  English,  "  Hosannah  to  the  Son  of 
David,"  and  "Gloi-ia  in  Excelsis."  The  latter  was  pre- 
pared by  Lady  Huntingdon's  suggestion,  for  use  in 
Whitefleld's  Orphan  House  in  America.  In  this  book 
appeared  that  universally  popular  hymn: — 
"  O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness." 

He  died   in  1791,   being   seventy-four  years  of  age. 

Though  his  speech    failed   him  before  his  departure,  he 

gave  signs  of  his  happy  state  of  mind,  and  that  the  prayer 

of  his  hymn  "Guide  me,"  etc.,  was  being  realized: — 

"When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan 
Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside." 

The    last   verse   of  this    hymn,   generally    omitted, 


reads : — 


"  Musing  on  my  habitation, 

Musing  on  my  heavenly  home, 
Fills  my  soul  with  holv  longings: 
Come,  my  Jesus,  quickly  come  ; 
Vanity  is  all  I  see  ; 

Lord,  I  long  to  be  with  thee  ! 


c  ~y^i 


492  William^ s  hymn  illustrated. 


"  Let  the  fiery,  cloudy  pillar 

Lead  me  all  my  journey  through.  " 


fHAT  Israel's  God  still  leads  the  way  with  a  pillar  of 
cloud  was  literally  shown  in  the  experience  of  a  Bap- 
tist minister  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  who  re- 
lated the  following  facts  to  the  author: — 

During  the  late  war  he  was  exposed  to  many  perils 
because  of  his  loyalty  to  the  Union. 

One  evening  as  he  left  the  door  of  his  house,  an  unac- 
countable presentiment  of  danger  impressed  him  so  much 
that  he  told  his  wife  he  must  flee  to  the  woods  for  shelter. 
After  night  she  conveyed  to  him  the  intelligence  of  his 
Providential  escape,  saying  that  soon  after  he  left  a  party 
of  guerrillas  arrived,  and  while  some  of  them  searched 
for  him,  others  were  erecting  a  gallows  at  the  barn  for 
his  execution. 

During  the  night  he  was  enabled  to  conceal  himself, 
but  he  apprehended  great  difficulty  the  next  day  in  get- 
ting across  a  wide  jjlain  that  lay  between  two  mountains, 
while  on  his  way  to  the  Union  lines. 

The  valley  had  no  shelter  and  he  would  necessarily  be 
exposed  to  siglit  and  to  the  quick  pursuit  of  his  enemies, 
who  were  on  horse-back.  This  extremity  was  God's  op- 
portunity. As  he  approached  the  plain  next  day  tliere 
arose  from  it  a  fog  high  enough  to  cover  him  as  he 
walked  through  it,  and  yet  low  enough  to  enable  him  to  see 
above  it  some  trees  on  the  mountain  top  to  guide  his  feet 
to  the  place  of  safety  on  the  other  side. 

Well  could  he  sing  as  his  feet  rested  on  the  Mount  of 
Deliverance,  and  his  eyes  looked  down  upon  the  cloudy 
pillar  that  enabled  him  to  get  there : — 

<'  Strong  Deliverer,  Strong  Deliverer, 

Be  thou  still  my  strength  and  shield. '' 

We  will  also  add  an  illustration  of  the  "fiery  pillar." 


Williams^  hymn  illustrated.  493 


During  our  late  war,  a  prisoner  in  Andersonville, 
managed  one  night  to  surmount  his  prison,  and  get  be- 
yond the  picket  line,  but  it  was  so  dark  that  he  could  not 
tell  which  was  North  or  South.  He  was  afraid  to  move, 
for  fear  of  moving  still  further  southward  into  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy.  He  had  a  compass  with  him,  that  pointed 
northward  to  the  land  of  freedom,  to  his  home  and 
friends,  but  it  was  useless  to  him  without  light.  A 
candle  or  even  a  match  would  have  been  of  priceless 
value  to  him  in  this  time  of  need,  for  his  very  life  seemed 
to  hang  upon  the  needed  light.  In  his  extremity,  a  kind 
providence  directed  a  little  lire-fly  to  wing  its  way  to  his 
relief.  He  eagerly  and  gladly  seized  it,  and  its  wings 
gave  out  light  enough  to  let  him  see  the  finger  on  his 
compass,  and  thus  his  feet  were  directed,  and  he  was  led 
at  length  to  his  home  in  safety.  A  beautiful  illustration 
of  that  Spirit  that  lightens  up  the  sacred  page,  and  shows 
us  the  way  that  leads  to  our  heavenly  home. 

The  following  is  Keble's  new  version  of   "Guide  me, 

O  Thou  great  Jehovah : " — 

"  Guide  us,  thou,  whose  name  is  Saviour, 
Pilgrims  in  the  barren  land ; 
We  are  \\eak,  and  thou  Almighty; 
Hold  us  with  thy  strong  right  hand, 

As  in  Egypt, 
As  upon  the  Red  Sea  strand. 

"Let  the  cloud  and  fire  supernal 
Day  and  night  before  us  go  ; 
Lead  us  to  the  Rock  and  Fountain 
Whence  the  living  waters  flow  ; 

Bread  of  heaven, 
Feed  us,  till  no  want  we  know. 

"When  we  touch  the  cold  dark  river. 
Cleave  for  us  the  swelling  tide  ; 
Through  the  flood  and  through  the  whirlpool 
Let  thine  ark  our  footsteps  guide ; 

Jesus  lead  us ; 
Land  us  safe  on  Canaan's  side." 


c 


494  Willianus'  hymn  ilhistrated. 


Singing  Satan  away. 

tOME  one  says  "A  hymn  is  a  singing  Angel  that  goes 
walking  through  the  earth,  scattering  the  devils 
before  it.  Therefore,  he  who  creates  hymns  imitates 
the  most  excellent  and  lovely  works  of  God,  who  made 
the  Angels." 

Christmas  Evans,  so  celebrated  in  Welsh  revivals,  viv- 
idly pictures  this  "Scattering  of  the  devils  by  God's 
Angel  of  song"  in  his  sermon  on  "the  dry  places"  where 
Satan  "is  seeking  rest  and  findeth  none."     Says  he: — 

"I  see  the  unclean  spirit  rising  like  a  winged  dragon, 
circling  in  the  air,  and  seeking  for  a  resting  place. 
Casting  his  fiery  glances  toward  a  certain  neighborhood, 
he  spies  a  young  man  in  the  bloom  of  life,  and  rejoicing 
in  his  strength,  seated  on  the  front  of  his  cart,  going  for 
lime.  'There  he  is  !'  said  the  old  dragon;  'his  veins  are 
full  of  blood,  and  his  bones  of  marrow;  I  will  throw  into 
his  bosom  sparks  from  liell ;  I  will  set  all  his  passions  on 
fire;  I  will  lead  him  from  bad  to  worse,  until  he  shall 
perpetrate  every  sin.  I  will  make  him  a  murderer,  and 
his  soul  shall  sink,  never  again  to  arise,  in  the  lake  of 
fire.'  By  this  time,  I  see  it  descend,  with  a  full  swoop 
tOM'ard  the  earth ;  but  nearing  the  youth,  the  dragon 
heard  him  sing, 

"  '  Guide  me,  0  Thou  Great  Jehovah  ! 
Pilgrim  through  this  barren  land, 

I  am  weak,  but  thou  art  mightj  ; 
Hold  me  with  thy  powertul  hand. 
Strong  Deliverer, 
Be  thou  still  my  strength  and  shield.' 

'A  dry,  dry  place,  this,'  says  the  old  dragon  ;  and  away 
he  goes,  But  I  see  him  again  hovering  about  in  the  air, 
and  casting  about  for  a  suitable  resting-place.  Beneath 
his  eye  there  is  a  flowery  meadow,  watered  by  a  crystal 
stream ;  and  he  descries  among  the  kine  a  maiden,  about 


Williams^  hymn  illustrated.  495 


eighteen  years  of  age,  picking  up  here  and  there  a  beau- 
tiful flower.  '  There  she  is  ! '  says  Apollyon,  intent  upon 
her  soul ;  *  I  will  poison  her  thoughts ;  she  shall  think 
evil  thoughts,  and  become  impure ;  she  shall  become  a 
lost  creature  in  the  great  city,  and,  at  last,  I  will  cast  her 
down  from  the  precipice  into  everlasting  burnings. ' 
Again  he  took  his  downward  flight,  but  he  no  sooner 
came  near  the  maiden,  than  he  heard  her  sing  the  fol- 
lowing words,  with  a  voice  that  might  have  melted  the 
rocks : — 

" '  Other  refuge  tave  T  none ; 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee; 
Leave,  ah!  leave  me  not  alone; 
Still  support  and  comfort  me.' 

And  so  again  he  fled  away  defeated." 

The  Name  that  makes  "Devils  fear  and  fly." 

fHE   following  is  the   first   verse  of  one  of  Charles 
Wesley's  popular  hymns: — 

"Jesus,  the  Name  high  over  all, 
In  hell,  or  earth,  or  sky; 
Angels  and  men  betore  it  fall, 
And  devils  fear  and  fly." 

This  hymn  is  said  to  have  been  suggested  l)y  the 
following  circumstances,  which  are  referred  to  in  his 
Journal,  August  6,  1744. 

While  preaching  in  Cornwall,  and  condemning  the 
drunken  revels  of  the  people,  he  was  lu'ging  them  to 
"  repent  and  be  converted,"  when  one  of  the  congregation 
contradicted  and  blasphemed.  "Who  is  he  that  pleads 
for  the  devil?"  asked  Wesley.  As  the  reviler  stood 
boldly  forward,  the  preacher  so  fearlessly  exposed  his 
iniquity  that  the  man  fled  frgm  the  church,  as  if  driven 
by  an  irresistible  power. 


C 


49  G  WalforiVs  hymn. 


"Sweet  hour  of  prayer,   sweet  hour  of  prayer." 

fHIS  much-loved  hymn  appeared  in  an  English  hymn-, 
book  of  1849.  It  was  written  by  Rev.  Mr.  Walford, 
a  blind  preacher,  who  was  supposed  to  have  first  com- 
jwsed  it  about  1846.  The  tune,  "Sweet  hour,"  to  which 
it  has  become  closely  wedded,  was  written  for  it  by 
AVilliam  Bradbury.  As  originally  printed,  it  had  four 
verses,  of  which  the  following  was  the  second.  As  it  is 
generally  omitted  we  insert  it  herewith : — 

"  Sweet  hour  of  prayer,  sweet  hour  of  prayer, 
The  joy  I  feel,  the  bliss  I  share, 
Of  those  whose  anxious  spirits  burn 
With  strong  desire  for  thy  return, 
"With  such  I  hasten  to  the  place 
Where  God,  my  Saviour,  shows  his  face. 
And  gladly  take  my  station  there. 
To  wait  for  thee,  sweet  hour  of  prayer,  " 


jf  N  the  memoir  of  Caroline  Hyde  it  is  stated  that,  though 
^  compelled  to  earn  a  livelihood  by  going  from  house 
to  house  as  a  seamstress,  whenever  her  "Sweet  hour 
of  prayer"  arrived,  however  employed,  she  would  beg  to 
be  excused,  saying  that  a  dear  friend  was  waiting  to  see  her. 

fF  Xavier  it  is  said,  that  one  day  he  told  his  servant 
to  call  him  at  the  end  of  his  usual  two  hours  of  de- 
votion. When  the  time  arrived,  as  he  did  not  respond 
to  the  call,  the  servant  opened  the  door,  and  found  his 
face  shining  with  such  a  sweet  exj^ression  of  delight,  and 
his  soul  so  enraptured  with  heavenly  intercourse,  that  he 
felt  reluctant  to  break  the  charm,  and  so  waited  and 
called  again  and  again,  until  four  hours  had  passed,  and 
then,  when  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulders,  the  saint 
exclaimed,  "Are  the  two  hours  gone  already"}"  He  was 
uttcrlv  amazed  when  told  that  even /oitr  hours  had  elapsed. 


Xavier's  hymn. 


4'97 


Xavier's  Hymn. 

AVIER  (  Francis  )  was  a  cel- 
ebrated Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sionary who  was  born  at  Na- 
varre, in  1506. 

He  wrote  a  hymn  in  1550, 
that  has  been  echoing  for  over 
three  hundred  years,  and  is 
still  highly  prized  by  Christians 
of  different  denominations. 

In  some  books  the  first  verse 
is  omitted.     It  commences: — 

"  My  God,  I  love  Thee,  not  beer.use 
I  hope  for  heaven  thereby.  " 

Some  books  commence  the  hymn  with  this  verse: — 

"Thou,  0  my  Jesus,  Thou  didst  me 
Upon  the  cross  embrace  ; 
For  me  didst  bear  the  nails  and  spear, 
And  manifold  disgrace.  " 

King  John  III. sent  him  out  as  a  missionary  to  the 
Portuguese  Colonies  in  the  East.  At  Goa  he  baptized 
ten  thousand  natives  in  a  single  month.  Having  been 
the  means  of  the  conversion  of  a  Japanese  of  high  rank 
at  Malacca,  and  having  such  great  success  in  various 
parts  of  heathendom,  he  turned  his  attention  to  Japan. 

In  less  than  three  years,  he  established  a  mission  here, 
that  continued  to  floiirish  for  above  one  hundred  years, 
until  the  final  expulsion  of  Christianity  from  the  Empire. 

While  preaching  in  one  of  the  cities  of  Japan,  a  man 
drew  near  as  if  he  had  something  to  communicate.  Xa- 
vier  leaned  his  head  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say,  when 
the  man  spit  freely  upon  his  face.  Xavier  simply  wiped 
his  face  with  his  handkerchief,  and  continued  his  sermon. 
By  this  meekness  many  were  won  to  Christ. 


^ 


r 


498 


Count  Nicholas  L.  Zinzendorf. 


Author  of  "Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness. " 


INZENDORF  Avrote  this 
hymn  in  1739,  while  on  a,  voy- 
age to  visit  the  missionaries 
who  liad  gone  forth  from 
Herrnliut  to  the  West  Indies. 

In  1740,  it  was  translated 
by  John  Wesley.  The  origi- 
nal contained  thirty-three 
verses. 

Zinzendorf  was   born    at 

Dresden,  May  1700.     He  was 

and   grandmotlier,   who   Avere 

The  latter  also 


blessed    Avith  a   mother 

conspicnons  for  their  piety  and  talents 

having  been  a  writer  of  hymns,  and  religious  works. 

Early  in  life  lie  was  remarkable  for  his  piety,  and 
Avhile  a  child  would  gather  other  children  together  to 
pray  with  him.  Referring  in  1740  to  his  childhood,  ho 
says,  ''It  is  more  than  thirty  years  since  I  received  a 
deep  impression  of  Divine  grace  through  the  preaching 
of  the  cross.  The  desire  to  bring  souls  to  Christ  took 
])ossession  of  me,  and  my  heart  became  fixed  on  the 
Lamb." 

Vy'hilc  still  a  youth  he  began  to  write  hymns.  In 
this  he  continued  till  in  old  age,  having  composed  in 
all  about  two  thousand. 

In  1722,  some  poor  persecuted  Christians,  followers 
of  John  Huss  t)f  Moravia  and  Bohemia,  obtained  leave 
to  settle  on  his  estate,  where  they  built  a  church. 
Converts  began  to  nuiltiply.     Zinzendorf  joined  them. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  village  of  Ilerrnhut,  and 
of  the  church  known  as  the  Moravian  or  United  Breth- 
ren. 


C 


1) 


COUNT  ZTNZENDORF. 


Zinzendorf  continued.  501 


The  three  eras  in  tlie  Moravian  church  comprise  the 
"Ancient  Church,"  from  1457  to  1627;  the  "Hidden 
Seed,"  from  1627  to  1722;  the  "Henewed  Church,"  from 
1722  to  the  present  time. 

In  1732,  Zinzendorf,  with  his  little  band  of  brethren 
of  Herrnhut,  started  the  mission  work,  that  has  been  so 
vigorously  and  extensively  carried  on  ever  since.  In  a 
few  years  four  thousand  natives  were  baptized  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  the  converts  in  Greenland  numbered  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-four. 

In  1741,  he  extended  his  travels  to  America,  and 
preached  at  Germantown  and  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania. 
At  Oly,  Pennsylvania,  he  ordained  the  missionaries 
Ranch  and  Buettner,  and  after  yisiting  various  tribes  of 
Indians,  established  at  Shekonieco,  the  first  Indian 
Moravian  congregation. 

Zinzendorf  was  a  prolific  writer.  His  published  works 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  eight  in  number.  Many 
of  his  hymns  were  produced  in  an  impromptu  manner. 
"After  the  discourse,"  says  he,  "I  generally  announce 
another  hymn,  appropriate  to  the  subject.  When  I  can- 
not find  one,  I  compose  one;  I  say,  in  the  Saviour's  name, 
what  comes  into  my  heart.  I  am,  as  ever,  a  poor  sinner, 
a  captive  of  love,  running  by  the  side  of  His  triumphal 
chariot,  and  have  no  desire  to  be  anything  else  as  long  as 
I  live." 

In  1721,  he  issued  the  hymn  'Mesu,  geh  voran,"  that 
is  highly  prized.  It  was  translated  into  English  by  Miss 
Jane  Borthwick,  and  is  still  found  in  English  hymn- 
books.     The  first  verse  is 

"  Jesus,  still  lead  on, 

Till  our  rest  be  won  ; 
And  although  the  way  be  cheerless, 
We  will  follow,  calm  and  fearless, 

Guide  us  by  thy  hand, 

To  our  father-land." 


w 


502  Zinzendorf  concluded. 


Zinzendorf  is  described  as  "a  noble,  grand-looking 
person,  with  high  foiehead,  and  blue  eyes;  manly  in  his 
bearing,  and  above  the  middle  height  in  stature."  Even 
up  to  the  last,  this  servant  of  God  did  with  his  might 
whatsoever  his  hands  found  to  do.  He  worked  like  a 
man  who  felt  deeply  impressed  with  the  thought  that  he 
had  much  to  do,  and  little  time  in  which  to  do  it.  His 
biographer  says  that  in  the  last  year  of  his  life,  "  he  de- 
termined to  seek  the  personal  acquaintance  of  every  mem- 
ber of  the  church,  that  he  might  ascertain  the  spiritual 
state  of  each  one.  This  was  a  vast  undertaking;  and, 
considering  the  large  number  of  inhabitants  at  Herrnhut, 
it  might  well  have  appeared  a  simple  impossibility. 
But  Zinzendorf,  instead  of  recoiling  before  the  difficulty, 
resolutely  set  to  work,  and  in  four  months  from  that 
time,  there  was  scarcely  an  individual  in  the  colony  that 
he  had  not  conversed  with  privately,  as  he  proposed." 

The  ninth  of  May,  1760,  was  his  last  day  on  earth. 
Before  closing  his  eyes  in  the  sleep  of  death ,  he  said :  "  I  am 
going  to  the  Saviour,  I  am  ready.  If  he  is  no  longer 
willing  to  make  use  of  me  here,  I  am  ready  to  go  to  him." 

For  several  days,  while  he  lay  in  his  coffin,  clothed  in 
the  white  gown  he  was  wont  to  wear  in  the  discharge  of 
his  ministerial  functions,  groups  of  friends  would  gather 
and  sing  around  his  endeared  remains,  those  hymns, 
with  which  he  had  so  often  led  them  in  their  songs  of 
praise. 

His  coffin  was  borne  to  the  tomb  by  thirty-two  preach- 
ers and  missionaries,  M'ho  happened  to  be  in  Herrnhut 
at  the  time.  They  were  men  Avhom  he  had  trained  for 
the  Lord's  work;  they  had  come  from  their  field  of  labor 
in  Holland,  England,  Ireland,  North  America,  and 
Greenland.  The  funeral  procession  was  composed  of 
over  two  thousand  individuals.  Well  may  one  ask, 
"  What  monarch  was  ever  honored  by  a  funeral  like  this  ?  " 


C 


*M 


'Praise  Him  with  stringed  imtruraents  and  organs."    Ps.  150 


r)EF.A.E,T3VEEISrT 


||itt  |{it|li|  Mi  llttroli  ||ii?;k 


"  Lord,  how  delightful  'tis  to  see 
A  whole  assembly  worship  Thee ! 
At  once  they  sing,  at  once  they  praj' ; 
They  hear  of  heaven  and  learn  the  way." 


c 


1/ 


504  Depai^tment  of  hymn  singing. 


r 


Churches  Opposed  to  Singing'. 

^S  the  singing  of  God's  praise  is  so  often  referred  to  in 
<^  the  Scriptures,  and  forms  such  a  prominent  and  de- 
lightful part  of  the  service  of  the  sanctuary,  it  seems 
to  us  incredible  that  there  should  ever  have  been  evan- 
gelical churches  bitterly  opposed  to  it. 

The  following  statements  are  taken  from  authentic  and 
original  documents,  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Francis 
Jennings. 

The  Second  Baptist  Church  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
of  which  Rev.  C.  H.  Malcolm  is  now  the  pastor,  was 
constituted  in  1656,  when  it  is  said  they  rejected  singing 
as  a  part  of  religious  service,  and  omitted  it  for  over  one 
hundred  years. 

In  1765  singing  was  introduced.  After  very  great 
agitation,  numerous  church  meetings,  and  much  op- 
position, permission  was  given  to  sing  one  hymn  or 
psalm  during  service. 

Out  of  .regard  to  tender  consciences,  those  who  could 
not  endure  the  sound  were  allowed  to  remain  out  in  the 
cold  until  it  was  concluded.  A  merciful  permission! 
A  generous  provis'on ! 

On  the  arrival  of  Rev.  James  Manning  in  Providence 
R.  I.  a  part  of  the  church  withdrew  with  the  pastor.  Rev. 
Samuel  Winsor,  because  the  church  introduced  singing. 
Afterwards,  in  1771,  they  formed  a  Baptist  church,  where 
singing  was  not  tolerated. 

June  5th,  1771,  according  to  Allen's  Register,  a  divi- 
sion took  place  in  the  Baptist  Church  in  New  York  city, 
because  a  part  adopted  singing.  Those  who  seceded  said, 
"Singing  in  public  worship  was  an  innovation  which  the 
withdrawing  party  never  could  tolerate. " 

It  seems  that  the  same  spirit  prevailed  in  England. 
The  practice  of  singing  in  public  worship   was   by  no 


r 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  505 


means  general  among  the  churches  in  1689.  So  odious 
had  been  the  pompous  and  theatrical  music  in  the  papal 
churches,  that  many  Protestants  went  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme, and  so  dispensed  with  singing  altogether,  except 
after  the  Lord's  supper. 

The  church  which  grew  into  the  one  that  Spurgeon  is 
now  pastor  of  was  originally  opposed  to  singing.  It 
M'as  known  at  the  start  as  the  Horselydown  Baptist 
Church.  While  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Benjamin 
Keach,  he  published  a  treatise  on  singing  in  1691,  en- 
titled, "  The  Breach  in  God's  AVorship  Repaired. "  This 
led  to  much  commotion.  Those  opposed  to  singing  with- 
drew, and  formed  themselves  into  the  church  at  Maze 
Pond,  London,  electing  one  of  their  number,  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Wallen,  as  pastor. 

For  nearly  forty  years  they  omitted  singing,  except 
when  partaking  of  the  Lord's  supper,  until  their  pastor 
died.  As  they  found  it  difficult  to  get  another  to  suit 
them,  they  elected  his  soij,  Mr.  Benjamin  Wallen.  But 
to  their  astonishment,  he  would  only  accept  the  call  on 
condition  that  they  would  introduce  singing. 

At  length  they  yielded  to  this  requirement,  and,  in 
1741,  the  meeting-house  again  became  vocal  with  praise. 

Dr.  Watts  says  of  his  day :  "  There  are  some  churches 
that  utterly  disallow  singing,  and  I  am  persuaded  that 
the  poor  performance  of  it  in  the  best  societies,  with  the 
mistaken  rules  to  which  it  is  confined,  is  one  great  rea- 
son of  their  entire  neglect." 

Dr.  Cuyler  says  :  *'  God  made  us  to  sing  as  truly  as  he 
made  us  to  smile  and   weep. 

"  One  thing  is  incontestable,  and  that  is,  that  we  shall 
sing  in  heaven.  Even  our  beloved  brethren,  the  Quak- 
ers, had  better  take  a  few  lessons  by  way  of  rehearsal  on 
this  side  of  the  pearly  gates. " 


506  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Singing  in  America  two  Centuries  Ago. 

fHE  first  printing  press  in  America  was  "put  up"  at 
Cambridge,  in  1639/-by  Stephen   Day,  and  the  first 
book   printed   upon  it  was   "  The  Psalms  in  Metre, 
faithfully  translated,  for  the  use,  edification,  and  comfort 
of  the  saints,  in  public  and  private,  especially  in  New 
England,  printed  at  Cambridge  in  1640." 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers  entered  on  their  records, 
"Stephen  Day,  being  the  first  that  set  up  printing,  is 
granted  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  where  it  may  be 
convenient  without  prejudice  to  any  town. " 

We  give  below  a  forest  relic  of  these  early  days,  com- 
posed by  a  converted  savage,  who  spent  his  days  in  teach- 
ing salvation  to  his  tribe. 

1.  In  de  dark  wood,  no  Tnjin  nigh, 
Den  me  look  heben,  send  up  cry 

Upon  my  knees  so  low. 
God  hear  poor  Injin  in  de  wood. 
Den  me  lub  God  and  dat  be  good, 

Me  heart,  he  tell  me  so. 

2.  Den  God,  He  say  Poor  Injun,  come 
Me  goin  to  take  poor  Injun  home 

Where  he  may  lib  in    Heben. 
Den  Injun  he  wing  up  an  fly, 
An  tell  de  angels  bove  de  sky 

How  he  hab  been  forgiben. 
3.  When  mo  be  old,  me  head  be  gray, 
He  neber  lebe  me, — so  He  say  — 

He  wid  me  till  me  die, 
Den  take  me  up  to  shiny  place  ; 
See  red  man,  white  man,  black  man  face 

All  happy  den  on  high. 

AYe  give  below  a  verse  of  one  of  the  Psalms  in  the 
Indian  tongue  as  printed  for  their  use  by  Eliot  in   1663. 

"Kesuk   Kukootumushteaumoo 

God  wussohsumoonk 
Mamahehekesuk  wumahluhkon 

Wutanakausnonk.  " 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  507 


Old  Style  Hymnology. 

E    give   herewith  some    specimens  of  the  hymns 
sung  before  the  days  of  Watts  and  Wesley. 
They  were  "deaconed  off  and  sung  one  line  at 
a  time. " 

"  'Tis  like  the  precious  ointment 
Down  Aaron's  beard  did  go  ; 
Down  Aaron's  beard  it  downward  went, 
His  garment  skirts  unto.  " 

In  1562  a  version  of  the  Psalms  known  as  Sternhold 
and  Hopkins',  was  issued,  in  whicli  the  10th  and  11th 
verses  of  the  74th  Psalm  are  put  into  verse. 

The  Psalmist  says,  "  O  God,  how  long  shall  the  adver- 
sary reproach?  Why  withdrawest  thou  thy  hand,  even 
thy  right  liand  ?  pluck  it  out  of  thy  bosom. "  The  poet 
renders  it  for  singing  thus ; — 

"  Why  dost  withdraw  thy  hand  aback 
And  hide  it  in  thy  lappe  ? 
0  pluck  it  out   and  be  not  slack 
To  give  thy  foes  a  rappe.  " 

The  Scripture  language,  "  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift 
nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,"  was  thus  arranged  for  sing- 
ing, one  says,  "  It  contains  truth,  whatever  may  be  said 
of  its  poetry, 

"  The  race  is  not  forever  got 
By  him  who  fastest  runs  ; 
Nor  the  battle  by  those  people 
Who  shoot  the  longest  guns." 

Of  the  following  specimen.  Dr.  Belcher  says,  "though 
our  readers  may  smile  at  it,  their  fathers  did  not," 

"  Ye  monsters  of  the  bubbling  deep, 
Your  Maker's  praises  spout; 
Up  from  the  sands,  ye  codlings,  peep, 
And  wag  your  tails  about.  " 


508  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Church  Singing  in  Olden  Times. 

''''*'E  will  give  a  few  extracts  from  the  early  history  of 
our  country,  that  our  readers  may  take  a  glance  at 
the  manner  in  which  our  forefathers  sang  their 
notes  of  praise. 

September  16,  1723.  The  New  England  Courant 
gave  this  item  of  news:  "A  council  of  churches  was  held 
at  Baintree,  to  regulate  disorders,  occasioned  by  regular 
singing  in  that  place,  Mr.  Niles,  the  minister,  having 
suspended  seven  or  eight  of  the  church,  for  persisting  in 
singing  by  rule."  The  council  declared  the  suspension 
unjust,  and  the  church  was  "ordered  to  sing  by  note 
and  by  rule,  alternately  for  the  satisfaction  of  both  ])arties." 

A  choir  in  Massachusetts,  having  commenced  singing 
without  waiting  for  the  Psalm  to  be  lined  out,  the  pastor 
waited  till  they  were  finished,  when  he  gravely  put  on 
his  spectacles,  and  said:  "Now  let  the  people  of  God 
sing,"  when  the  congregation  joined  with  him  in  singing 
according  to  the  old  form. 

It  is  said  of  Dr.  Joseph  Bellamy,  that  after  his  choir 
had  sung  in  sad  style,  he  gave  out  another  Psahn, 
saying:  "You  must  try  again;  for  it  is  impossible  to 
preach  after  such  singing." 

The  servant  of  the  Rev.  S.  Moody,  having  led  the 
singing  one  day,  the  dominie  remarked  at  the  close  of 
the  meeting:  "John,  you  shall  never  set  the  Psalm  again, 
for  you  are  ready  to  burst  with  pride." 

But  few  tunes  were  known  in  those  days,  and  the  use 
of  notes  little  understood,  so  that  the  melody  was  "tor- 
tured, and  twisted  as  every  unskillful  throat  saw  fit." 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Walker  says,  it  sounded  "like  five  hun- 
dred different  tunes  roared  out  at  the  same  time,  so  hid- 
eously and  disorderly  as  is  bad  beyond  expression,  I 
myself  have  twice  in  one  note  paused  to  take  breath." 


C 


SB' 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  511 


The  Dearest  Idol  I  have  Known 


/[h  HIS  line  is  from  Cowper's  well  known  hymn, 
^  "  0  for  a  closer  walk  with  God.  " 

A  volume  of  illustrations  could  l)e  made  of  the 
"dearest  idol  known"  to  those  who  make  music  in  the 
christian  sanctuary. 

While  preaching  in  a  country  German  church,  not 
forty  miles  from  Philadelphia,  I  was  elevated  above  my 
fellow  mortals  by  the  old  fashioned  "  wine  glass  pulpit.  '' 
Being  thus  brought  on  a  level  with  the  choir  gallery  I 
was  enabled,  from  this  high  point  of  observation,  to  solve 
mysteries  that  my  less  privileged  auditors  below  could 
not  unravel. 

After  giving  out  the  second  hymn,  according  to  cus- 
tom, I  lined  it,  but  the  music  did  not  follow.  The 
audience  waited  and  wondered,  but  it  \yas  in  vain. 
Many  faces  were  now  upturned  to  ascertain  the  cause, 
when  lo!  the  leader  had  taken  out  his  little  black  idol — 
not  very  "little"  indeed  for  it  was  a  big  plug  of  tobacco, 
to  which  he  had  first  to  pay  his  respects,  before  he  sent 
up  his  song  of  praise  to  the  God  of  Heaven. 

Unfortuately,  as  he  took  a  bite,  he  could  not  tear  it 
off;  so  he  had  to  pull,  and  pull,  and  pull,  to  the  great 
consternation  of  his  fellow  singers;  until  at  length  he  was 
rewarded  for  his  devotion,  by  a  mouth  full  larger  than 
he  anticipated,  so  that  the  music  not  having  room  to  es- 
cape through  the  mouth  had  to  get  out  with  a  "nasal 
twang,"  that  was  not  very   "  harmonious  to  our  ear." 

It  was  a  sad  comment  of  the  poet's  prayer,  which  M'as 

surely  appropriate  for  him. 

"  The  dearest  idol  I  have  known. 
Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  thy  throne, 
And  worship  only  thee.  " 

r'  ■  ^1 


Q 


512  Department  of  hymn  sinking. 


Expressive  Epitaph  of  a  Chorister. 

fCHOIE,  leader,  familiarly  known  as    "Stephen," 
had  been  accustomed  to  stand  at  a  conspicuous  posi- 
tion.and  beat  time  at  full  arms  length.     So  much  em- 
phasis did  he  seem  to  give  to  the  music  that  many  sup- 
posed that  good  church  singing  was  dependent  on  the 
motion  of  that  long  arm. 

In  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  death  succeeded  at 
length  in  stopping  this  musical  pendulum  from  swinging. 
On  a  plain  marble  slab  at  the  head  of  his  grave  were 
placed  the  lines: — 

"  Stephen  and  Time  at  length  are  even, 
Stephen  beat  Time  and  Time  beat  Stephen. " 


An  Unexpected  Coincidence. 

f  CORRESPONDENT  of  The  Cincinnatti  Gazette  is 
responsible  for  the  following: — 

"A  clergyman  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.  married  a  lady 
with  whom  he  received  the  substantial  dowry  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  a  fair  prospect  for  more.  Shortly 
afterward,  while  occupying  the  pulpit,  he  gave  out  the 
hymn,  read  the  first  four  verses,  and  was  proceeding  to 
read  the  fifth,  commencing, 

"  '  Forever  let  my  grateful  heart,' 

when  he  hesitated,  baulked  and  exclaimed:  'Ahem!  the 
choir  will  omit  the  fifth  verse,'  and  sat  down.  The 
congregation,  attracted  by  his  apparent  confusion,  read 
the  verse  for  themselves,  and  smiled  almost  audibly  as 
they  read: 

■"'Forever  let  my  grateful  heart 
His  boundless  grace  adore, 
Who  gives  ten  thousand  blessings  now, 
And  bids  rae  hope  for  more.'' 


Department  of  hymn  singing. 


513 


A  Hymn  Illustrated  by  a  Thunder-storm. 

HILE-  George  Whitefiekl  was 
delivering  a  sermon  in  Boston 
on  the  wonders  of  creation, 
providence  and  redemption,  a 
terrific  storm  of  thunder  and 
lightning  arose.  Dr.  Belcher 
says  it  "  so  alarmed  the  con- 
gregation that  they  sat  in 
breathless  awe.  The  preacher 
closed  his  note-book,  and,  step- 
^      .  .  pino-  into   one  of  the  wings  of 

the  desk,  fell  on  his  knees,  and,  with  much  feeling  and 

fine  taste,  repeated  from  Dr.  Watts : 

"  Hark!  the  Eternal  rends  the  skyl 
A  mighty  voice  before  him  goes,— 
A  voice  of  music  to  liis  friends, 

But  threatening  thunder  to  his  foes. 

"  Come,  children,  to  your  Father's  arms  ! 
Hide  in  the  chambers  of  my  grace 
Till  the  fierce  storm  is  overblown^ 
And  my  revenging  fury  cease  !  " 

'Let  US  devotedly  sing  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God 
this  hymn:    Old  Hundred.' 

"The  whole  congregation  instantly  rose  and  pouied 
forth  the  sacred  song.  By  the  time  the  hymn  was  fin- 
ished, the  storm  was  hushed,  and  the  sun,  bursting  forth, 
showed  the  magnificent  arch  of  peace.  Resuming  the 
desk,  the  preacher  quoted,  with  admirable  tact,  i^oolc 
upon  the  rainbow:  praise  him  that  made  it.  \  erv 
beautiful  is  it  in  the  brightness  thereof!  It  compasseth 
the  heaven  about  with  a  glorious  circle ;  and  the  hands 
of  the  Most  High  have  bended  it. '  The  episode  added 
intense  interest  \o  the  service. " 


514  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Incidents  of  the  Tune  of  Old  Hundred. 


mHE  name  given  to  the  tune  of  "Old  Hundred"  is 
&)  derived  from  the  hundreth  Psalm,  to  which  it  was 
originally  sung. 

It  was  composed  by  William  Franc,  for  the  Calvinistic 
Psalm-book  in  1553,  and  afterwards  "transferred  by 
Ainsworth  to  his  book  compiled  for  the  exiled  Puritans 
in  Holland,  who, "  at  length,  "  brought  it  to  America, 
where  it  has  become  the  National  Te  Deum. " 

It  was  very  much  changed  and  improved  by  Luther, 
so  much  so,  that  some  have  supposed  it  was  his  compo- 
sition. 

Maria  P.  Woolridge,  in  the  Ladies^  Repository,  says : 
"  A  friend  of  the  writer  was  not  long  since  visiting  a 
Catholic  Cathedral,  and  innocently  inquired  why  such  a 
magnificent  composition  as  Old  Hundred  was  never  sung 
by  the  Catholics.  The  priest's  face  contracted  with  a 
look  of  deadly  hate,  as  he  replied,  "  The  heretic  Luther 
wrote  that,  madam." 

"A  remarkable  incident  is  that  of  a  Scottish  youth, 
who  learned  from  a  pious  mother  to  sing  the  old  psalms, 
that  were  as  household  words  to  them  in  the  kirk  and 
by  the  fireside.  When  he  grew  up,  he  wandered  away 
from  his  native  country,  was  taken  captive  by  the  Turks, 
and  made  a  slave  in  one  of  the  Barbary  states.  But  he 
never  forgot  the  songs  of  Zion,  although  he  sung  them 
in  a  strange  land  and  to  heathen  ears.  One  night  ho 
was  solacing  himself  in  this  manner,  when  the  attention 
of  some  sailors  on  board  of  an  English  man-of-war  was 
directed  to  the  familiar  tune  of  'Old  Hundred,'  as  it 
came  floating  over  the  moon-lit  Avaves.  At  once  they 
surmised  the  truth,  that  one  of  their  countrymen  was 
languishing  away  his  life  as  a  captive.  Quickly  arming 
themselves,   they  manned   a  boat,   and  lost   no   time  in 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  515 


effecting  IiLs  release.  What  a  joy  to  liim  after  eighteen 
long  years  passed  in  slavery!  Slionkl  not  you  think  he 
-would  ever  after  love  the  glorious  tune  of  "  Old  Hun- 
dred?" 

The  following  incident  is  related  of  Deacon  Hunt,  who 
was  naturally  a  man  of  high  temper,  and  often  made  it 
manifest  in  beating  his  oxen  severely.  When  he  became 
a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus,  his  cattle  seemed  to  be 
more  docile.  A  friend  inquired  into  the  secret.  "  Why, " 
said  the  deacon,  "formerly,  when  my  oxen  were  a  little 
contrary,  I  flew  into  a  passion,  and  beat  them  unmerci- 
fully. This  made  tlie  matter  worse.  Now,  when  they 
do  not  behave  well,  I  go  behind  the  load,  sit  down,  and 
sing  Old  Hundred.  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  the 
psalm-tune  has  a  surprising  effect  upon  my  oxen." 

Music  does  not  always  have  such  a  soothing  effect,  as 
would  appear  from  the  following  amusing  incident: — 

A  young  man  being  surrounded  in  the  parlor  by  a  party 
of  several  friends  was  urgently  besought  to  favor  them 
with  some  singing.  He  replied  that  he  M-ould  first  tell 
them  a  story,  and  then  if  they  still  insisted  on  it,  he  would 
gratify  their  wishes. 

When  a  boy,  he  said,  he  took  lessons  in  'feinging;  and 
one  Sunday  morning  went  up  into  his  father's  garret  to 
practice  by  himself.  While  under  full  lieadway,  he  was 
suddenly  sent  for  by  the  old  gentleman. 

"This  is  pretty  conduct, "  said  the  father,  "pretty  em- 
ployment for  the  son  of  pious  parents,  to  be  sawing  boards 
in  the  garret  on  a  Sunday  morning,  loud  enough  to  be 
heard  by  all  the  neighbors.  Sit  down  and  take  vour 
book." 

We  scarcely  need  add  that,  after  this  revelation  of  his 
musical  powers,  the  young  man  was  excused  from  sing- 


C 


516  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Hymns  Disjointed  by  Fugue  Tunes. 

tAD  and  often  amusing  have  been  the  consequences  of 
singing  hymns  in  fugue  style.  The  following  verse 
of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-third  Psalm, 

"  True  love  is  like  that  precious  oil 
Which  poured  on  Aaron's  head, 
Ran  down  his  beard,  and  o'er  his  robes 
Its  costly  moisture  shed,  " 

has  been  wedded  to  a  tune  of  this  kind.  In  order  to 
get  the  "precious  oil"  to  -'rundown  his  beard, "  the 
following  prodigious  effort  is  made  in  the  music : — 

"Ran  down  his  beard  and  o'er  his  robes — 

Kan  down  his  beard 

his  robes, 

And  o'er  his  robes — 

Ran  down  his  beard — ran  down  his 

o'er  his  robes — 

His  robes,  his  robes,  ran  down  his  beard, 

Kan  down  his 

o'er  his  robes 

Ran  down  his  beard 

h-i-s  b-e-a-r-d 

Its  costly  moist 

^an  down  his  beard 

ure — beard — his — beard — his —  shed 

Ran  down  his  beard — his — down  his  robes — 
— its  costly  moist — his  beard — ure  shed — 
his — cost — his  robes — his  robes — ure  shed 
I-t-s  c-o-s-t-l-y  moist — ure s-h-e-d.  "' 

Bishop  Seaburv,  being  present  at  one  time  when  a 
choir  was  going  through  this  performance,  he  -was  asked 
what  he  thought  of  it.  His  reply  Avas  that  "he  had  paid 
no  attention  to  the  music,  in  that  his  sympathies  Avere 
so  much  excited  for  poor  Aaron  that  he  was  afraid  he 
would  not  have  a  hair  left. " 

Some  pastors  have  kindly  furnished  us,  in  our  travels, 
with  various  other  specimens,  that  we  give  herewith. 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  517 

One  related  an  instance  where  the  tune  required  the 
first  three  words  of  a  line  to  be  repeated,  so  that  when 
the  words, 

"Send  down  salvation" 
occurred,  the  choir  sang  aloud : — 

"  Send  down  sal 

Send  down  sal 

Stnd  down  sal " 

At  another  time,  the  tune  sundered  the  line, 

"  And  take  the  poor  pilgrim  home, " 
SO  that  it  was  repeated  thus : — 

"  And  take  the  poor  pil 

And  take  ihe  poor  pil " 

Another  hymn  and  tune  thus  "  unequally  yoked  "  to- 
gether, caused  an  unfortunate  rupture  in  the  words, 

"  \nd  chase  the  fleeting  hour," 
so  that  the  choir  sang  : — 

"  And  chase  the  flee 

And  chase  the  flee .  " 

No  less  amusing  was  the  following  occurrence  of  the 
singing  of  a  tune  that  disjointed  the  line, 

"  0,  for  a  mansion  in  the  skies, " 

so  that  it  was  sung  : — 

"  0,  for  a  man 

0,  for  a  man 

0,  for  a  man " 

The  effect  of  a  half  dozen  young  ladies  in  the  choir  gal- 
lery singing  aloud, 

"  0,  for  a  man ,  " 

can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 


C 


518  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


The  Massacre  of  Church  Kusic. 

^NDER  this  heading  Rev.  T.  DeAVitt  Talmage  gives 
^  the  following  description  of  an  illustrative  incident : — 
"  The  minister  read  the  hymn  beautifully.  The  or- 
gan began,  and  the  choir  sang,  as  near  as  I  could  under- 
stand, as  follows : — 

"  '  Oo — aw — gee — bah 
Ah — me — la — he 
0 — pah — sah— dah 
Wo— haw— gee-e-e-e.  '• 

"My  wife,  seated  beside  me,  did  not  like  the  music. 
But  I  said:  "What  beautiful  sentiment!  My  dear,  it  is 
a  pastoral.  You  might  have  known  that  from  '  Wo-haw- 
geeV  You  have  had  your  taste  ruined  by  attending  the 
Brooklyn  Tabernacle. 

"  The  choir  repeated  the  last  line  of  the  hymn  four  times. 
Then  the  prima  donna  leaped  on  to  the  first  line,  and 
slipped,  and  fell  on  to  the  second,  and  that  broke  and 
let  her  through  into  the  third.  The  other  voices  came 
id  to  pick  her  up  and  got  into  a  grand  wrangle. " 

f  GENTLEMAN  from  the  country  attended  one  of 
our  city  churches,  where  he  found  four  persons  em- 
])loyed  to  do  the  singing  for  the  congregation. 
The  music  was  scientific,  and  the  language  of  the  hymn, 
he  says,  sounded  as  follows : — 

"  Waw-kaw,  swaw  daw  aw  raw, 
Thaw  saw  thaw  law  aw  waw  ; 
Waw-kaw  taw  thaw  raw  vaw  yaw  braw 
Aw  thaw  raw-jaw  saw  aws.  " 

Which,  rendered  into  English,  reads  as  follows : — 

"Welcome,  sweet  day  of  rest, 
That  saw  the  Lord  arise  ; 
Welcome  to  this  reviving  breast 
And  these  rejoicing  eyes.  " 


r 


M 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  519 


Choir  Difficulties. 


^  CHOIR  in  a  New  England  church  took  offence  at  a 
<^  stranger  who  officiated  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor, 
because  he  had    unwittingly  disregarded    some  of 
their  rules. 

After  several  vain  attempts  to  induce  them  to  sing,  he 
gave  out  the  verse: — 

"Let  those  refuse  to  sing 

Who  never  knew  our  God  ; 
But  children  oftlie  heavenly  King 
May  speak  their  joys  abroad.  " 

This  it  seems  had  the  desired  eifect,  for  as  the  whole 
congregation  joined  in  with  the  minister,  the  choir  could 
not  keep  silent  and  admit  that,  like  the  heathen,  they 
" — never  knew  our  God. '' 


fT  another  time  the  common  metre  hymn 
"  I  love  to  steal  a  while  away,  " 
was   announced.     The  chorister    tried  a  tune,  but 
when  he  got  as  far  as 

"  I  love  to  steal,  " 

found  out  that  the  metre  would  not  suit. 

Then  he  tried  another,  but  stuck  when  he  got  on  as 
far  again  as 

"  I  love  to  steal. " 

Being  well  supplied  with  the  grace  of  perseverance,  he 
resolved  to  ''try,  try  again;"  but  always  unfortunately 
stopped  after  saying, 

"  I  love  to  steal,  " 

"When,  with  a  smile,  the  pastor  remarked,  "  It  is  very 
much  to  be  regretted.     Let  us  ])ray,  " 

It  is  strange  to  add,   that  this  little  circumstance  led 
to  the  dismission  of  the  ]^nstor. 


1/ 


520  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Solemn  Mockery  in   Singing. 

fHAT  is  more  painful  to  l)eho]d    than  that  wicked 
trifling  that  is  sometimes  shown  by  those  who  lead 
the  singing  in  God's  Sanctuary.  Very  many  pas- 
tors speak  of"  the  bitter  pangs  experienced  when  compell- 
ed to  see  the  irreverent  conduct  in  the  choir  gallery. 

One  remarked  to  me,  that  he  had  received  so 
many  "cold  shocks"  by  witnessing  the  talking,  laugh- 
ing, leaf-turning,  and  note  writing  of  members  of  the 
choir,  that  to  avoid  a  "chill,"  he  had  so  trained  his  eyes 
that,  when  looking  over  the  congregation  in  his  sermon, 
he  kept  his  singers  out  of  sight. 

At  one  of  our  meetings  a  lady  leader  retired  to  the 
rear  of  the  gallery,  took  two  chairs,  on  the  one  she  spread 
out  her  feet  and  leaned  back  on  the  other  in  true  loafer's 
•style.  She  kept  reading  in  what  looked  like  a  red  cov- 
ered novel,  till  the  close  of  the  sermon,  when  she  ad- 
vanced to  the  front,  and  led  again  the  song  of  the  Sanc- 
tuary. 

I  was  present  at  a  funeral  service,  in  which  the  whole 
audience  seemed  bathed   in  tears. 

The  deceased  was  a  mother  in  Israel,  whose  body  was 
placed  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  The  elevated  position  of 
the  choir  brought  the  pale  face  of  death  in  view,  and  yet 
Avith  these  impressive  surroundings,  they  could  not  sing 
the  funeral  hymns  without  their  accustomed  whispering, 
and  "tittering."  While  singing  the  solemn  words, 

"  Why  do  je  mourn   departed  friends, 
Or  shake  at  death's  alarm," 

tljey  could  even  "  shake  "  with  laughter,   as  the  organ 
played  the  interludes. 

If  God  consumed  Nadab  and  Abihu  for  trifling  in  his 
presence,  fearful  to  such  will  be  the  coming  judgment 
day. 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  521 


Old  Adam  Manifested. 


/Ji  HE  Rev.  John  Adams  was  ordained  in  1748.  Af- 
^  ter  preaching  thirty  years  at  Durham,  N.  H.,  some 
difficulties  brought  about  his  dismission.  At  the 
close  of  his  farewell  sermon,  he  asked  his  ])eople  to  "sing 
to  the  praise  of  God,  and  to  their  own  edification,"  the 
first  three  verses  of  the  one  hundred  and  twentieth  psalm 
of  Dr.   Watts:— 

"  Thou  God  of  love  thou  ever  biest, 
Pity  my  suffering  state  : 
When  wilt  thou  set  uiy  soul  at  rest 
From  lips  which  love  deceit?  " 

"  Hard  lot  of  mine  !  my  days  are  cast 
Among  the  sons  of  strife, 
Whose  never-ceasing  brawlings  waste 
My  golden  hours  of  life. 

"  Oh,  might  I  fly  to  change  m}'  place, 
How  would  I  choose  to  dwell 
In  some  wild,  lonesome  wilderness, 
.And  leave  these  gates  of  hell !  " 


tR.  BELCHER  also  gives  the  following  crook  in 
one  of  the  Lord's  earthen  vessels : — 
"■'  Not  many  years  since,  a  minister  in  New  Hampshire 
fell,  as  will  sometimes  happen,  into  a  difficulty  with  his 
choir,  which  for  some  time  prevented  their  accustomed 
services.  At  length  the  choir  relented,  and  appeared,  as 
heretofore,  at  the  usual  time  of  service.  The  minister 
most  unexpectedly  saw  them  in  their  places,  and  in  due 
time,  looking  very  significantly,  rose  and  read  the 
hymn,— 

"  'And  are  ye  wretches  yet  alive, 
And  do  ye  yet  rebel  ?  '  " 


w 


522  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


A  New  Way  to  Blow  the  Organ. 

tN  an  Episcopal  church  the  person  who  blew  the  bel- 
lows of  the  organ  was  also  accustomed  to  attend  to 
the  furnance,  and,  finding  it  necessary  to  look  after 
the  fire,  told  a  man,  lately  imported,  to  blow  the  bellows 
if  it  was  required  during  his  absence.  Soon  the  Gloi'ia 
in  Excelsis  came  in  the  order  of  exercises,  to  be  chanted, 
and  Patrick  was  directed  to  furnish  the  organic  element. 
After  waiting  some  time  for  the  instrument  to  respond  to 
the  touch,  the  lady  performer  whispered,  "  blow."  "Blow" 
repeated  the  leader.  "Blow,"  echoed  the  entire  choir. 
An  investigation  now  took  place,  whtn  Patrick  was 
found  behind  the  organ  with  both  hands  tightly  clinched 
around  the  bellows-handle,  and  he,  with  inflated  cheeks 
and  distended  eyes,  was  trying  his  utmost  to  blow  his 
own  breath  into  the  bellows  so  as  to  fill  the  instrument. 


A  Big  Tuning  Fork. 

to  give  a  correct  pitch  to  church  tunes,  musical  pitch- 
forks were  formerly  much  in  use.  When  they  were  first 
introduced  into  the  British  realms,  the  precentor  of 
Carnock  parish  ordered  the  Edinburgh  Carrier  to  bring 
him  one.  As  the  carrier  had  never  heard  of  any  other  pitch- 
fork but  that  used  by  the  farmers,  he  purchased  one  tliat 
was  about  eight  feet  long.  It  Avas  late  on  Saturday  night 
when  he  came  home,  and,  as  a  message  had  been  left  to 
bring  it  up  when  he  came  to  church  next  day,  he  marched 
into  the  church  yard  before  the  bell  rung,  and,  to  the  no 
little  astonishment  and  amusement  of  the  leader  of  song, 
Avho  was  standing  amid  a  group  of  villagers,  he  exclaimed 
"Aweel,  John,  here's  the  pitchfork  you  wanted;  but  I  can 
tell  you,  I  ne'er  thought  much  o'  your  singing  before, 
and  I'm  sair  mistaken  if  ye'll  sing  ony  better  now ! " 

C'  JB/ 


Department  of  hymn  singing. 


523 


A  Clergyman  in  a  Fix. 

EARS  ago,  an  aged  minister 
was  officiating  for  the  first  time 
in  a  Methodist  church  in  Geor- 
gia, where  they  kept  up  the  old 
custom  of  having  the  hymns 
"  lined, "  that  the  M^hole  congre- 
gation may,  according  to  the 
wise  discipline  of  that  Church, 
join  in  the  singing,  whether  they 
have  hymn-books  or  not.  The 
venerable  man  could  not  see  dis- 
tinctly, and    intended   to  omit 

singing  during  that  service.  To  announce  his  purpose, 

he  arose  and  said, 

"  My  eyes  are  dim  :    I  cannot  see  " — 

and  immediately  the  chorister  commenced  singing  it  to 
the  tune  of  "  Old  Hundred.  "  Surprise  and  mortification 
made  the  clergyman  almost  speechless  ;  but  he  stammered 
out, 

"  I  meant  but  an  apology.  " 
This  line  was   immediately  sung  by  the  congregation, 
and  the  minister,  now  quite  excited,  exclaimed, 

"  Forbear,  I  pray;  my  sight  is  dim'' — 
but  the  singing  proceeded,  and  the  couplet  was   finished 
by  his  beseeching  explanation, 

"  I  do  not  mean  to  read  a  hymn.  " 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  was  also  sung  with  much 
energy,  while  the  worthy  old  gentleman  sat  down  in  ac- 
tual despair  of  accomplishing  his  purpose  to  do  without 
singing. 


C 


^J 


524 


Department  of  hymn  singing. 


C 


Inappropriate  Fymns. 


UEER  thoughtlessness  is  some- 
times manifested  in  theannouuc- 
ment  of  unsuitable  hymns. 

On  a  bright  Sabbath  morning 
a  pastor  gave  out,  to  a  large 
and  intelligent  audience,  the  ex- 
pressive evening  hymn  com- 
jiosed  by  James  Edmeston,  in 
1820:— 

"  Saviour  breathe  an  evenincr  blessing, 
Ere  repose  our  spirits  seal." 


f  TIRING  the  preaching  of  a  farewell  sermon,  the  peo- 
ple were  so  melted   down  with  emotion,  that  the 
speaker  was  scarcely  able  to  proceed.     Calling  upon 
a  ministerial  brother  to  close  the  service,  he  announced 
the  hymn, 

"Jesus,  we  lift  our  souls  to  thee; 
Thy  Holy  Spirit  breathe, 
And  let  this  little  infant  be 
Baptised  into  thy  death.  " 

The  effect  may  easily  be  imagined. 

tN  some  churches,  choirs  are  permitted  to  select  their 
own  voluntaries  with   which  to  close  a  service. 
At  the  funeral  of  a  distinguished  gentleman  in  Massa- 
chusetts, the  singers  sang  of  their  own  accord, 

"  Believing  we  rejoice 
To  see  the  curse  remove.  " 

Surely  this  sentiment  could  not  have  been  very  much  in 
accord  with  the  weeping  friends   of  the  departed. 


Department  of  hymn  singing. 


525 


C 


On  another  funeral  occasion,  in  the  presence  of  the 
deceased  body  of  one  who  had  been  noted  for  her  irrita- 
bility and  propensity  to  scold,  the  officiating  clergyman 
gave  out  the  hymn  : — 

"Sister,  thou  wast  mild  and  lovely, 
Gentle  as  tlie  summer  breeze, 
Pleasant  as  the  air  of  evening. 
When  it  floats  among  the  trees." 

^  PKESBYTERIAN  clergyman,  who  had  been  in  his 
^  jmstorate  near  a  half  century,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  was  called  upon  to  preach  the  funeral  fermon 
of  one  of  his  most  devoted  female  members.  On  tliis 
occasion  his  tender  feelings  would  now  and  then  so  over- 
come him,  that  he  would  pause  in  the  midst  of  a  sentence 
and  repeat  a  part  several  times  before  he  could  control 
his  emotions  so  as  to  complete  it. 

In  describing  the  prayerfulness  of  the  deceased  he  was 
adapting  the  verse  of  the  hymn, 

"  I  love  to  steal  awhile  awaj," 
when  his  feelings  so  overpowered  him,  that  he  had  to  stop 
after  saying,  "  She  loved  to  steal;"  and  after  a  tearful 
pause,  that  rendered  it  more  emphatic,  he  said  again, 
"She  loved  to  steal;"  and  not  till  a  third  trial  could  he 
go  on  to  say  : — 

"  She  loved  to  steal  awhile  away, 
From  every  cumbering  care, 
And  spend  the  hours  of  closing  day 
In  humble,  grateful  prayer." 

A  ministerial  brother,  a  resident  of  the  same  place,  in 
narrating  to  the  author  the  above,  said  that  his  brother 
was  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene,  and  of  the  many  futile 
attempts  to  repress  untimely  laughter  at  each  repetition 
of  the  assertion,  "She  loved  to  steal." 


w 


526  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Roman  Catholic  Hymns. 


fO  give  an  idea  of  what  the  young  are  taught  to  sing 
in  the  Papal   communion,  we  append  some  of  their 
songs,  from  *'  The  Catholic  Youth's  Hyran-Book. " 
To  Saint  Mary,  who  is  entitled,  "  The  Queen  of  the 
Heavens,    Mistress   of  Earth,"    is   addressed   the   fol- 
lowing : — 

"  These  praises  and  prayers 
I  lay  at  thy  feet ! 
0  vir;:in  of  virgins! 
0  Mary  most  sweet ! 
Be  thou  my  true  guide  throu>rh  this  pilgrimage  here, 
And  stand  by  my  side  -when  death  draweth  near." 

Saint  Joseph  is  honored    with  the  following  suppli- 
cation:— 

"0  father  of  Jesus!  be  father  tome, 
Sweet  spouse  of  our  Lady  1  aud  1  will  love  thee.  " 

And  thus  again: — 

"  There's  no  saint  in  heaven,  Saint  Joseph,  like  thee, 
Sweet  spouse  of  our  Lady !  O  deign  to  love  me.  " 

Of  purgatory,  they  sing  as  follows : — 

"  The  holy  sacrifice  of  Mass 

Assists  the  souls  in  purgatory; 
Through  this  most  holy  sacrifice, 

O  God  of  mercy,  hear  their  cry. 
May  they  receive  eternal  rest, 
And  with  the  light  of  heaven  be  blest." 

In  the  last  verse  of  a  hymn  entitled,  "The  Church  of 
the  Saints:" — 

"Then  we'll  clin?  to  the  priest,  and  we'll  cling  to  the  Pope  : 
We'll  cling  to  Clirit's  vicar,  for  Christ  is  our  hope; 
We'll  fight  a  pood  battle,  and  Mary  the  while 
From  her  throne  in  the  skies,  on  her  children  will  smile." 

r ^         =z:g)i 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  527 


The  Braying  of  an  Ass  Imitated  in  Clmrch  Song. 

EV.  DR.  DOWLING,  in  his  History  of  Romanism, 

^  while  showing  tlie  midnight  darkness  of  the  dark  ages, 

and  the  senseless  superstition  of  the  Roman  Catholic 

Church  during  that  period,  refers,  as  an  illustration,  to 

a  festival  called,  The  Feast  of  the  Ass. 

On  the  14th  of  January  it  was  celebrated  at  Beauvais 
and  other  places. 

A  young  lady,  with  an  infant  in  her  arms,  was  chosen 
to  represent  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  infant  Jesus. 
Seated  upon  an  ass,  richly  caparisoned,  she  was  followed 
in  procession  by  the  bishop  and  clergy,  from  the  cathedral 
to  the  church  of  St.  Stephen,  where  she  was  placed  near 
the  altar,  and  then  commenced  the  "high  mass."  The 
people,  instead  of  the  usual  responses,  were  taught  to 
imitate  the  braying  of  the  ass,  or  to  imitate  the  sounds 
hinham,  hinham,  hinham. 

The  learned  Edgar  refers  to  the  close  of  this  religious 
mummury  on  this  wise :  "  The  worship  concluded  with  a 
BRAYING-MATCH  between  the  clergy  and  laity,  in  honor 
of  the  ass.  The  officiating  priest  turned  to  the  people, 
and  in  a  fine  treble  voice,  and  with  great  devotion, 
brayed  three  times  like  an  ass,  whose  representative  he  was ; 
while  the  people,  imitating  his  example  in  thanking  God, 
brayed  three  times  in  concert. "  We  give  one  of  the  nine 
verses,  sung  with  great  vociferation  in  praise  of  the  ass 
on  this  occasion: — 

"G(.li],  from  Araby  the  blest, 

Seba  myrrh,  of  myrrh  the  best, 

To  the  church  this  ass  did  bring; 

We  his  sturdy  labors  sing. 

Now,  Signior  Ass,  a  noble  bray; 
That  beauteous  mouth  at  large  display, 
Abundant  food  our  hay-lofts  yield. 
And  oats  abundant  load  the  field.  " 

C'  ^=1) 


528 


Department  of  hymn  singing. 


A  Maniac  Subdued  by  the  Singing  of  a  Hymn. 

HILE  Mr.  T.  E.  Perkins  was 
sitting  in  the  room  of  the  How- 
ard Mission,  New  York,  con- 
versing with  Rev.  Mr.  Van 
Meter,  they  were  interrupted  by 
the  entrance  of  a  wild  lookiii<r 
man,  who  exclaimed,  "  Is  Awful 
Gardner  here?"  "  is'o,"  replied 
Mr.  Van  Meter.  ''Then  I  am 
lost,"  said  the  man  in  accents 
of  despair.  "  If  awful  Gardner 
was  here  he  could  save  me;  he 
would  know  how,  because  he's  been  the  same  road ;  but 
now  I  am  lost;"  and  drawing  a  bowie-knife  from  under 
his  vest,  he  was  about  to  plunge  it  into  his  bosom,  when 
Mi.  Van  Meter  sprang  forward  and  caught  his  arm. 

Seeing  that  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  wrest  the 
knife  from  his  grasp,  Mr.  Van  Meter  sought  to  distract  the 
man's  attention  from  his  suicidal  purpose,  but  the  unfor- 
tunate creature  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  delirium  tremens, 
and  became  unmanageable. 

Mr.  Perkins,  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  sat  down  at 
the  melodeon,  and  began  to  play  and  sing  : — 

"  Come,  ye  disconsolate,  where'er  ye  languish  ; 
Come  to  the  mercy-seat,  fervently  kneel ; 
Here  bring  your  wounded  hearts,  here  tell  j-our  anguish  ; 
Earth  has  no  sorrow  that  heaven  cannot  heal." 


The  effect  was  magical.  The  man  became  sufficiently 
calm  for  ISIr.  Van  Meter  to  march  him  up  and  down  the 
room,  while  Mr.  Perkins  continued  to  play  and  sing. 
Af::er4Kiishiiig  "Come,  ye  discotisolate,"  lie  san 


C 


I  ^% 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  529 


"Jesus,  to  thy  dear  arms  I  flee, 
I  have  no  other  hope  but  thee." 

The  effect  was  still  more  marked. 
After  singing  that  beautiful  hymn  Mr.  Perkins  com- 
menced : — 

"  Flee  as  a  bird  to  your  mountain." 

As  the  strains  of  this  exquisite  composition  filled  the 
room,  the  maniac  paused,  sat  down,  covered  his  face  with 
his  hands,  and  sobbed  like  a  child,  or  rather  like  a  bro- 
ken-hearted, remorseful  man. 

By  this  time  Mrs.  Van  Meter,  who  was  present  when 
the  man  first  burst  into  the  room,  came  in  with  a  bowl  of 
strong  coffee,  which  she  had  thoughtfully  made,  and 
as  soon  as  the  weeping  stranger  became  sufficiently  com- 
posed, she  gave  it  to  him.  That  quieted  his  nerves  and 
renewed  his  strength,  and  in  a  little  while  he  became  com- 
pletely restored  to  tiie  possession  of  his  faculties. 

"Who  is  this  man?"  was  the  question  which  rose 
spontaneously  to  the  lips  of  his  deliverer,  but  all  efforts 
to  ascertain  seemed  to  prove  fruitless.  He  persistently 
refused  to  give  his  name,  or  to  furnish  any  clue  to  his 
residence  or  identity. 

Mr.  Perkins  accompanied  him  to  the  St.  Nicholas 
Hotel,  where  he  took  a  room  under  an  assumed  name. 
As  in  his  conversation  he  had  chanced  to  mention  a 
clergyman  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  whom  Mr.  Van  Meter  knew, 
the  latter  immediately  wrote  to  the  clergyman,  stating  the 
case.  The  clergyman  came  by  the  first  boat, and  at  once 
recognized  the  unfortunate  man,  took  him  back  again  to 
his  home  in  Hartford,  where,  before  the  period  of  his 
dissipation,  he  had  been  a  man  of  wealth  and  responsi- 
bility. He  threw  off  the  thralldom  of  rum,  and  is  now  a 
respected  Christian  man. 


c 


530  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


A  Life  Saved  by  Singing. 

fFTE  editor  of  the  "Musical  Journal"  narrates  the 
following  account,  given  him  by  a  retired  sea-captain, 
whom   he  describes  as  "a  gentleman    of  high  and 
honorable  character^  whose  truthfulness  we  have  no  rea- 
son to  doubt." 

Being  at  sea,  the  cook  had  tlie  sad  misfortune  one  day, 
on  attempting  to  draw  a  bucket  of  water  over  the  side 
of  the  ship,  to  lose  his  balance,  and  fall  overboard. 

One  of  the  sailors,  who  was  addicted  to  stuttering,  but 
who  was  a  good  singer,  came  running  to  tiie  captain,  who 
happened  to  be  in  the  cabin,  and  cried  out  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs:  "Captain,  the  co-co-co-co-co-co-." 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  the  captain,  "sing  it,^' 
when  the  sailor  lustily  struck  up: —  ' 


-I— — Is — h^=is=:qv 


:^'5=fs==t 


The     cook       is         o  -  ver-board,  buck-et     and     all ! 


upon  which  "the  captain  ran  up  on  deck,  caused  the 
boat  to  be  lowered,  and  thus  saved  the  life  of  the  poor 
'cook,  bucket  and  all.'" 


%  MONG  the  relics  of  hymnology,  of  the  days  of  the 
<^  revolution,  is  the  following,  "issued  in  1770,  in  the 
New  England  Psalm-Singer  or  American  Chorister, 
by  William  Billings,  a  native  of  Boston,  in  New  Eng- 
land:"— 

"  0,  praise  the  Lord  with  one  consent, 
And,  in  this  grand  desijrn, 
Let  Britain  and  the  colonies 
Unanimously  join." 

To  which  a  historian  adds:   "This  opened  a  new  era  for 
the  history  of  psalmody  in  the  colonies." 


1 


w 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  631 


Saved  by  the  Attraction  of  Music- 

fN  old  Inn  keeper  in  England,  who  had  often  swore 
that  he  would  never  attend  church,  heard  of  the 
choice  music,  and  of  the  crowds  attracted  by  it,  and 
so  resolved,  one  Sabbath  afternoon,  to  go  and  hear  the 
singing,  but  not  to  hear  one  word  of  the  sermon. 

The  church  was  six  miles  distant,  and  as  it  was  a  hot 
summer  day,  and  he  a  corpulent  man,  he  came  in  with 
the  sweat  pouring  down  on  every  side,  and  with  diflicul- 
ty  crowded  into  a  narrow  pew. 

He  listened  with  rapt  attention  to  the  singing  of  the 
first  hymns,  but  then  leaned  his  elbows  on  the  back  of 
the  next  pew,  and  put  his  two  fore-fingers  in  his  ears,  so 
as  not  to  hear  one  word  of  the  sermon  that  followed. 

He  seemed  well  fortified  from  the  darts  of  truth,  until 
a  little  tricky  fly  came  flying  along,  and  lit  on  his  red 
carbuncled  nose,  and  stung  it  so  that  in  self  defence,  he 
was  comjiolled  to  take  one  of  his  hands  to  knock  oif  the 
naughty  fly,  when  to  his  surprise  the  words  of  the  preach- 
er came  ringing  in  the  unstopped  ear.  "  He  that  hath  ears 
to  hear,  let  him  hear. " 

They  sounded  like  a  clap  of  thunder  in  the  clear  sky. 
He  opened  both  ears,  and  was  very  much  impressed  by 
the  words  that  followed. 

That  day  was  the  beginning  of  days  to  him  :  a  change 
was  i^roduced  upon  him  which  could  not  but  be  noticed 
by  all  his  former  companions.  He  never  from  that  day 
returned  to  any  of  his  former  practices,  nor  ever  after- 
Avards  was  he  seen  in  liquor,  nor  heard  to  SAvear.  He  be- 
came truly  serious,  and  for  many  years  went,  all  weath- 
ers, six  miles  to  church  where  he  first  received  the  knowl- 
edge of  Divine  things. 

After  about  eighteen  years  fiiithful  and  close  walk  with 
God,  he  died  rejoicing  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 


532  Department  of  hymn  singing. 


Solomon's  Song. 

fRICH  young  gentleman  in  New  York,  hearing   a 
minister,  in  a  Fifth  Avenue  clnireli,  highly  applaud 
Solomon's  Song,  thought  it  would  make  a  nice  pres- 
ent for  one  of  his  musical  female  friends.     So  calling  at 
Messrs. Brown  and  Perkin's  music   store  he  inquired: 

" Have  you  Solomon's  Song?  I — aw — want  to  get  a 
cawpy. " 

"  ISl-o-oo,"  thougthfully  replied  the  senior  member, 
"I  th-inknot." 

"Aw!"  said  the  young  amateur  drawing  on  his  kid, 
"  perhaps  it  isn't  out  yet.  Our  rector  spoke  of  it  last 
Sunday  as  a  work  of  great  genius  and  beauty,  and  I 
want  Miss aw — a  certain  young  lady  to  learn  it.  " 

fllE  chorister  of  a  choir  in  Vermont  wrote  to  a  pub- 
lisher in   Boston  for  a  copy  of  the  popular  singing 
book,   "  The  Ancient   Jjyre. "      His  communication 
ran,  "Please  send  me  the  Ancient  Liar,  well  bound." 

The  publisher  replied:  "My  dear  sir: — I  do  not  doubt 
that  the  devil  has  been  and  still  is  in  Boston,  but  it  will 
be  difficult  to  comply  with  your  request,  for  the  reason 
that  Boston's  influence  is  so  strong  in  his  favor,  jt  will 
be  impossible  to  6ind  him." 


^T  an  evening  service,  Deacon  H was  reading 

'^  the  lines  of  Watts'  hymn: — 

"  The  fondness  of  a  creature's  love, 
How  strong  it  strikes  the  sense  ! '' 

when,  his  eye-sight  being  poor  and  his  education  no  bet- 
ter, he  brought  out  the  two  lines  with  a  full  voice  as 
follows : — 

"The  fatness  of  a  critter's  love, 

How  strange  it  strikes  the  sense, " 


1/ 


Department  of  hymn  singing.  533 


A  Ruffian  Charmed. 


fURING  the  persecutions  of  Christians  at  Wexford, 
Ireland,  by  the  Catholics,  they  met  in  a  closed  barn. 
"  One  violent  opposer  agreed  to  conceal   himself  in 
the  barn  before  the  worship  began,  that  at  a  suitable  time 
he  might  open  the  door  to  his  comrades;   and  for  that 
purpose  he  crept  into  a  sack  near  the  door. 

When  the  singing  commenced,  the  Hibernian  was  so 
impressed  with  the  music  that  he  thought  he  would  hear 
it  through  before  he  began  the  disturbance.  The  singing 
so  much  gratified  him  that  he  thought  he  would  also  hear 
the  prayer;  and  such  Avas  the  effect  of  the  prayer  that  he 
was  seized  with  remorse  and  trembling,  so  that  he  roar- 
ed w^ith  fright, — which  led  the  people  to  remove  the  sack, 
Avhereupon  the  Irishman  was  disclosed,  praying  with  all 
his  might  as  a  penitent.  S'outhey  says,  ''This  is  the  most 
comical  case  of  instantaneous  conversion  that  ever  was  re- 
corded: and  yet  the  man  is  said  to  have  been  thoroughly 
converted. " 

Provoking^  a  Smile. 

f  chorister  In   Connecticut  finding  the  words  of  the 
ninety-second  Psalm  as  arranged  by  Watts: — 
"  Oh  mny  mj  lienrt  in  tune  l)e  found 
Like  David's  harp  of  solemn  sound  !  " 

not  adapted  to  some  new  music,  came  to  his  pastor  with 

this  proposed  change, 

"  Oh  may  my  heart  be  tuned  within, 
Lilve  David's  sacred  violin  !  " 

Checking  his   "risibles, "   the  pastor  proposed  to  change 
it  to  read    thus  : — 

"  Oh  may  my  heart  go  diddle,  diddle, 
Like  Uncle  David's   sacred  fiddle  !  " 

The  abashed  critic  meekly  retired. 


r 


Hymn  books. 
List  of  Hymn  Books. 


The  800  hymn-writers,  referred  to  in  tliis  book,  include  the 
authors  of  nearly  all  the  hymns  contained  in  the  following 
standard  hymn-books: — 

The  Presbyterian  Hymnal,    Joseph  Duryea  D.  D.    Pres.  Board  of  Pub. 
The  Church  Hyvn  Boo:?;,    Edwin  F.  Hatfield  D.  U. 

Ivison,  Blakeman,  Taylor  and  Co,  New  York, 
Psalms  and  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Sonus,    Charles   Robinson  D.  D. 

A.   S.  Barnes  and  Co.    Ill  William  St,  N.  Y. 
Hymns  and  Songs  of  Praise,    Rev.  Drs.  Hitchcock,   Eddy,   and  SchafF. 

A.  D    F.  Randolph  and  Co.,  New  York. 
Baptist  Hymn  and  Tune  Book,    Baptist  Board  of  Publication,  Philadelphia. 
The  Baptist  Praise  Book,    Rev.  Messrs.   Fuller,  Levy,  Phelps,  Fisk,  etc. 

A.  S.  Barnes  and  Co.,  New  York. 
Hymns  for  the  Methodist  E.  Church.      Nelson  and  Phillips,  N.  Y. 
The  Voice  of  Praise.  Rev.  Messrs.  Alex.  Clark,  McKeever,  etc. 

James  Robisou,  Pittsl)urg,  Pa. 
The  Service  of  Song,    S.  L.  Caldwell   and  A.  J.  Gordon. 

Gould  and   Lincoln,  Boston,  Mas3. 
Th3  Psalmist,    Rev.  Messrs.  Baron   Stow  and  S.  F.  Smith. 

Gould  and  Lincoln,  Boston,  Mass. 
Hymns  of  the   Church,    Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.   Thompson,  A.  G.   Vermih'e,  etc. 

A.  S.  Barnes  and  Co,  New  York. 
Hymns  for  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  U.  S. 

Reformed  Church  Publication  Board,   Phila. 
The  Book  of  Praise,  Rev.  Messrs.  Eustis,  Jr.,  Parker,  Dana,  Dunning:,  etc_ 

Hamersky  and  Co.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
The  New  Sabbath  Hymn  and  Tune  Book,   Rev.  Messrs  Lowell   Mason,  Ed- 
ward A.  Park,  and  Austin  Phelps. 

Hamersley  and  Co.,  Hartford,  Conn. 
Hymnal  with  Tunes  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

A.  S    Barnes  and  Co.,  New  York. 
Plymouth  Collection,  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beechcr.     A.  S   Bnrnes  and  Co. 
Hymns  fob  the  Sanctuary,    Rev.  Messrs.  Lanthurn,  Sliuey,  Kumler,  etc. 

United  Brethren  Pub.  House,  Dayton,  O. 
Church  Book  for  the  use  of  Evangelical  Lutheran  Congregations. 

Lutheran  Book  Store.  Philadelphia. 
Book  of  Worship,     General  Synod  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Lutheran  Board  of  Publication.  Phila. 
Evangelical  Hymn  Book,  Evangelical  Association,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


mfi  J>{  |ii««  %^M' 


EXPLAXATIONS. — The  letter  N  attached  to  the  figures  precerling  a  name  refers  to  a  note  in 
the  Appendix.  (See  page  552.)  The  asterisk  (*)  indicates  a  clergyniaii.  Ch.  Eng.  stands  for  tlse 
riiurch  of  E;igIaiiJ.  Cath.  for  Roman  Catholic,  ordinarily.  Numbers  in  parenthuses  refer  to  the 
date  of  the  hymn.  'While  all  the  hymns  are  found  in  English,  some  are  translations  from  the 
languages  in  which  they  were  first  written. 


29 


25 


N.    2 


40 

34 

.V.    3 


NAME. 

Home. 

Birth.. .Dealh. 

Chubch. 

Abelard,  Peter 

Eng... 

1079. ..1142 

Cath 

Adam,  S.  Victor... 

Eng... 

1086 

Cath 

A<lams,  John 

Eng... 

1751... 1835 

Bapt 

Adams,  John  Q... 

U.  S... 

1767. ..1848 

Unit'n.... 

Adams,  S.  F 

Eng... 

1805. ..1849 

Uuit'n.... 

Addiscott,  H 

Eng... 

1806. ..I860 

Cong 

Addison,  J 

Eng... 
Ger... 

1672... 1719 
1553 

Ch.  Eng. 
Luth.s... 

Alber,  Erasmus... 

Alberti,  Henry 

Prus .. 

1604. ..1668 

Luth 

Albertini,  J.  B 

Ger ... 

1769. ..1831 

Jlora 

Albernus,  J.  G 

Sax... 

1624. ..1679 

Luth 

.Ue.xander,  C.  F... 

Ire 

1823 

Ch.  Eng. 

Alexander,  J.  A... 

U.S... 

1809. ..I860 

Pres«- 

Alexander,  VV.  L.. 
Alfred  the  Great... 

Scot... 
Eng... 

1808 

Cong»... 
Catk 

871...  900 

Alford,  Henry 

Eng... 

1810. ..1871 

C.  Eng.® 

Allen,  James.  ..;.. 

Eng... 

1734.. .1804 

Meth.«... 

Allen,  Oswald 

Allendorf,  J.  L.  C. 

Ger".'." 

1816 

1693. ..1773 

Ref.s 

Altenberg,  J.  M.... 

Prus .. 

1.5S3...1640 

Luth 

Ambrose,  St 

Fran.. 
Turk.. 

U.S... 

340...  397 

458 

1816 

Cath.*... 

Anatolius,  St 

Anderson,  G.  W... 

Bapt.®... 

Bapt 

Greek.... 

Anderson,  Mrs 

Andrew    St 

Fran.. 

Crete. 
Siles.. 
Italy.. 

1819 

660...  731 
1624. ..1677 
1086 

Angeliis,  S 

Ref.» 

Anselm,  St 

Cath.*... 

Anstice,  Joseph... 

Eng... 

1818. ..1836 

C.  Eng.® 

Apeiles.Matth..... 

Prus.. 

1594... 1648 

Luth 

UNK    OV  THEIR    HVW 

I  He  sends  to  the  virgin. 
[The  church  on  earth,  with 

Jesus  is  our  great  salvation. 

How  swift,  alas!  our  moments 
j  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee. 
[And  is  there,  Lord,  a  cross  for 
.jWhen  all  thy  mercies,  O  my 
lO  children  of  your  God,  rejoice 
[God,  who  made  the  earth  and 
iLong  in  the  spirit-M'orld  my 

Not  in  anger  smite  us,  Lord. 
I  The  roseate  hues  of  early  dawn. 
[There  is  a  time  we  know  not 
[Spirit  of  power  and  truth  and 
[As  the  sun  doth  daily  rise. 

Come,  ye  thankful  people,  come 

Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in 
jTo-da.y  thy  mercy  calls  me. 

Now  rest  my  .soul  in  Jesus'  arm. 
I  Fear  not,  O  little  one,  the  foe. 

O  God  of  truth,  O  Lord  of  might. 
[The  day  i.s  past  and  over. 

Onward,  herald  of  *he  Gospel. 

Our  country's  voice  is  pleading. 
jO  the  mystery,  passing  wonder. 
iMost  high  and  holy  Trinity. 
'Jesus,  solace  of  my  soul. 

\n  all  things  like  thy  brethren. 
.[O  Christ,  the  leader  of  that  war- 
535 


536 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


N.    4 


N.  5 
N.  6 
N.    7 


JV.    8 

N.    9 

JV.  10 

42 


259 
54 


Aquinas,  St.  Thos. 
Arndt,  Ernest  M 
Arnold,  Gottfried.. 
Auber,  Harriet.. 

Austin,  John 

Avelinff,  T.  W... 


56 


58 
N.  11 


N.  12 


Bache,  Mrs.  S 

Bacon,  Leonard... 
Bahnmaier,  J.  F.. 

Baker,  H.  W 

Bakewell,  John... 
Baldwin,  Thomas. 

Balfour,  Ale.x 

Ball,  William 

Balthaser,  S.  F.... 

Bancroft,  J.  H 

Bancroft,  C.  L 

Barbauld,  A.  L. ... 
Barin,(:f-Gou]d,  S... 

Barlow,  Joel 

Bartholomew,  W.. 
Barton,  Bernard... 
Bateman,  C.  H.... 
Bateman,  Henry... 
Bathurst,  W.  H... 

Batty,  Chris 

Baxter,  Lydia 

Ba.xter,  Richard... 

Beadon,  H.  W 

Beaumont,  John... 
Bede,  Venerable... 

Beddome,  B 

Beecher,  Charles . 

Behemb,  M 

Beman,  N.  S 

Benedictis,  J.  De. 

Bengel,  J.  A 

Bennett,  Henry... 

Benson,  R.  W 

Bernard,  St 

Bernard  of  Cluny. 
Berridge,  John.... 
Bethune,  Geo.  W. 
Bianco  da  Siena... 
Biarowsky,  W.  E.. 
Bickensteth,  Edw. 
Bickersteth,  p:.  H. 
Bickersteth,  John 

Bienemann,  V- 

Bilby,  Thomas 

Binney,  Thomas... 

Birken,  S 

Birks,  T.  R 


Italy. 
Ger.. 
Ger.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 

Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Ger.. 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.S... 
Scot... 
Eng... 
Ger... 
U.S... 

Ire 

Eng... 
Eng... 
U.S... 
Eng... 
Ensr... 


Birth. ..Death. 


Eng.. 

Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 


Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Ger.. 
U.S.. 
Umb. 
Ger.. 


Eng... 
Eng... 
Fran.. 
Eng... 
U.S... 
Italy., 
Ger  ... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Ger... 
j:ng... 
p:ng... 
Bohe., 
Eng.. 


1227. ..1274 
1769.. .18(50 
1666. ..1714 
1773. ..1862 


Cath 

Luth 

Ref. 

Ch.  Eng, 


1815. 


.1669  Cath. 
Cons 


.1808 


1744. 

1802 

1774. ..1841 

1821 

1721. ..1819 
1753. ..1825 
1767. ..1829 
....(1864).... 
1657. ..1742 
1819... 1844 


1744. ..1825 


.1812 


1757. 

1793 

1784...  1849 
1813(1848) 

1800 

1796 

1715... 1797 
1809...  1874 
1615... 1691 


Unit'n.. 
Cong.*.. 
Luth.® ., 
C.  Eng.^ 
Meth.*.. 
Bapt.®.., 

Pres 

Quaker. 
Ref. 


Ch.  En^ 
Unit'n., 


Pres. 


Quaker.. 


1810 

672  ..  735 
1717. ..1795 

1819 

1537...  1622 
1786... 1871 

1306 

1687. ..1782 
1813... 1868 
....(1861).... 

1150 

1091.. .1153 
1716... 1793 
1805. ..1862 

1434 

1814 

1786. ..1850 

1.S25 

1781. ..18.55 
1.540... 1591 

1794 

1798 

1626. ..1681 
1810 


C.  Eng.« 
Meth.«-... 

Bapt 

Pres.« .... 
C.  Eng.« 


First  Line  of  onr 


Now  my  tongue  the  mystery 
Go,  and  dig  my  grave  to-day  !    . 
Well  for  him,  who  all  things 
Our  blest  Redeemer,  ere  we 
Blest  be  thy  love,  dear  Lord. 
Hail !  thou  God  of  grace  and 

"  See  how  He  loved  !  "  exclaimed 
Wake  the  song  of  jubilee. 
Spread,  oh  spread,  thou  mighty 
Oh!  what  if  we  are  Christ's 
HaiJ  !  thou  once  desjnsed  Jesus  ' 
Come,  happy  souls,  adore  tlie 
Go,  messengers  of  peace  and  love 
Hallelujah  !  jiraise  to  God 
If  Thou,  True  Life,  wilt  in  me 
Brother,  though  from  yonder 
Oh  for  the  robes  of  whiteness ! 
Praise  to  God,  innnortal  ])iaise 
Onward,  Christian  soldiers. 
Awake,  my  soul,  to  sound  his 
Praise  Jehovah,  bow  before  Iiim. 
Lani])  of  our  feet !  whereby  we 
Blessed  Jesus,  ere  we  part. 
Jesus  !  Jesus  !  come  and  save. 
Oh  !  for  a  faith  that  will  not 
Captain  of  thine  enlisted  host. 
There  is  a  gate  that  stands  ajar. 
Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care 
All  praise  to  thee,  O  Lord  ! 
Many  times  since  days  of  youth 
A  hymn  for  martyrs,  sweetly 
Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep. 
We  are  on  our  journey  home. 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my  life,  my 


Cath.*.... 
Bapt.*.... 
Cong.*... 
Luth*  ... 

Pres *|Hark  !  the  judgment  trumj)et 

Cath.  ■  ■  ■       ■        ■ 

Luth-i 


C.  En 
Cath.s 
Cath.« 
C.  Eng.* 

Ref* 

Cath 

Luth* .... 
C.  Eng.^^ 
C.  Eng.* 
C.  Eng.« 
Luth*.... 


Cong.* .. 

Luth 

C.  Eng.« 


At  the  cross  her  station  keeping. 

I'll  think  upon  the  woes. 

I  have  a  home  above. 

Praise  to  God  who  reigns  above. 

Brief  life  is  here  our  portion 

Jesus,  thou  joy  of  loving  hearts 

Oh,  happy  saints  who  dwell  in 

O  Thou  who  in  Jordan  didst 

Come  down,  O  Love  Divine. 

Remember  me. 

With  thankful  hearts  our  songs 

Father  of  heaven  above 

Hast  Thou,  Holy  Lord,  Redeemer 

Come,  O  my  soul,  in  sacred  lays. 

Here  we  suffer  grief  and  pain. 

Paternal  light !  eternal  light ! 

Wrote  many  hymns ;  2  tr.  in  Eng. 

Oh  !  when  from  all  the  ends  of 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


637 


N. 


X. 


X.  18 


JBlackall,  C.  R 

13  Blacklock,  T 

Blackie,  J.  S 

Blair,  Robert 

Blew,  W.  J 

Bliss,  Philip  P.... 

Blunt,  R.  W 

Bode,  J.  E 

Boden,  James 

Bogatzky.C.  II.... 

Bohme,  D 

Bohmer,  J.  II 

Bohnmaier,  J 

66  Bonar,  H 

iBonaveiitura,  St... 

14  Borthwick,  J 

Boschenstein,  J... 

Bourignon,  A 

Bourne,  H 

Bowdler,  .John 

15  Bowring,  John.... 
Bracken  Iniry^R.C. 
Brady,  Nicholas... 

Brooks,  C.  T 

Brewer,  J 

Bridges,  M 

Bronte,  Anne 

Brown,  J.  N 

77  Brown,  Mrs.  P.  H. 

16  Browne,  Simon.... 
Brown,  \\'illiam... 

;  Browne,  Thos 

17  Bruce,  M 

Bruingk,  II 

Brvant,  J.  H 

Bryant,  W.C 

Bubier,  G.  B 

Buckoll,  H.J 

Bulfinch,  S.  G 

Bullock,  AVm 

Bulmer,  A 

Bulmer,  J 

Bunting,  W.  M..., 

Biirde,  S.  G 

Burder,  G 

Burdsall,  R 

Burgess,  G , 

Burleigh,  W 

Burmeister,  F 

Burnham,  R 

Burns,  J.  D 

Burton,  John 

Burton,  John 

Butcher,  E , 


HOMB 

U.S.. 
Scot .. 
Scot.. 
Scot.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Pru.s . 
Prus . 
Ger.. 
Ger .. 
Scot.. 
Italy. 
Scot.. 
Ger.. 
Hoi... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Ire.... 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 
En^.. 


Eng... 

Scot.. 
Ger  .. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Prus. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 
Ger.. 
Eng.. 
Scot.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 


Birth. ..Death.       Church. 


1830 

1721 

1809 

1699... 1746 

1808 

1838 

...(1841)... 

1816 

1757. ..1841 


Bapt 

91  Pres.«-.. 

Pres 

Pres.®  . 

C.  Eng. 

Cong... 

Ch.  En< 

C.  Eng. 

Cong.*. 

Ref. 

.1657iRef;»... 
.1749  [Ref.®... 

.1841: 

I  Pres.*., 

.12741 


.1774; 


1690. 
1605. 
1674. 
1774. 
1808. 
1221. 

...(1858)...! 

1472...1536lLuth 

1616...1680| 

1772... 1852  Meth.»... 
1783...1815  Ch.  Eng. 
1792. .. 1872  Unit'n.... 
1752...1SlS|Meth.®... 
1659...17261C.  Eno:.* 


Unit'n.-' 
Cong.«. 

Cath 

Ch.  En£ 


1813 

1752... 1817 
...(1860)... 
1820... 1849 

1803. ..18681  Bapt 

1783. .. 1861  jCong 

16S0. .. 17321  Coug.«-... 

...(1822)... I 

1005...  1682 1  Ch.  Eng. 
1746...1767!Pres 


1785 

1807 

1797 

1823 

...(1840)... 
1809.. .1870 

1798 

1775. ..1837 
1784.. .1857 
1805. ..1866 
1753. ..1831 
1752.. .1832 
1735. ..1824 
1809. ..1866 
1812. ..1871 

1688 

1749. ..1810 
1823. ..1864 
1773. ..1822 

1803 

1757... 1822 


Moray. 


Unit'n... 
Cong.® .. 
C.  Eng.-:i 
Unit'n.® 
C.  Eng.« 

Meth 

Cong.«.. 

Meth 

Luth 

Cong.® .. 
Met'h..... 
Epis.*... 
Unit'n... 

Ref 

Bapt.®... 
Pres.®  .. 

Bapt 

Cong 

Unit'n.®, 


First  Line  of  one  of  their  Hymns. 

Follow  the  paths  of  Jesus. 
Come,  oh  my  soul  in  sacred  lays 
Angels,  holy,  high  and  lowly.' 
What  though  no  flowers  the  fig:- 
The  day  is  past  and  gone.  Great 
Almost  ]iersuaded,  now  to  believe 
Jesus,  thy  blessed  brow  is  torn 
All  wandering  on  the  blessed 
Ye  dying  sons  of  men. 
Awake,  thou  Spirit,  who  of  old 
Lord,  now  let  thy  servant 

0  risen  Eord,  O  conquering  King. 
Spread,  O  spread,  thou  mighty 

1  lay  my  sins  on  Jesus. 

In  the  Lord's  atoning  grief. 
My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt. 
AVhen  on  the  cross  the  Saviour 
Come,  Saviour  Jesus,  from  above 
O  Saviour,  welcome  to  my  heart 
As  panting  in  the  sultry  beam 
In  the  cross  of  <'hrist  I  glory. 
My  son,  know  thou  the  Lord. 
11  itJi  I'ate  tvrute  a  version  oj  Ps. 
God  bless  our  native  land.(tr.) 
Hail,  sovereign  Love,  that  first 
!My  God,  acce]>t  my  heart  this  day 
Oppressed  with  sin  and  woe 
Go,  spirit  of  the  sainted  dead 
O  Lord,  Ihy  work  revive 
Come,  Holy  Spirit   heavenly 
Welcome,  sacreil  day  of  rest 
The  night  is  come,  like  to  the 
O  happy  is  the  man  who  hears. 
Thou  source  of  my  salvation 

0  Lord,  our  eyes  have  waited 
Deem  not  1  hat  they  a  re  blest  alone 

1  would  commune  with  thee,  my 
Word  of  Him  whose  sovereign 
Hail  to  the  Sabbath  day. 

Vf'e  love  the  place,  O  God 
Lord,  if  the  vast  creation 
Thou  who  hast  in  Zion  laid 
My  Sabbath  suns  may  all  have 
When  the  Lord  wields  the 
Come  ye  that  know  and  fear  the 
The  voice  of  free  grace. 
When  forth  from  Egypt's 
Father,  beneath  thy  sheltering 
Thou  virgin  soul,  6  thou 
Holy  Spirit,  now  descend 
Still  with  thee,  O  my  God. 
Time  is  winging  us  away. 
O  thou  that  hearest  prayer 
Hosannaii !  let  us  join  to  sing 


538 


Synojisis  of  Hymn    Wrlte7'S. 


84 

.N.  19 


iV.  20 


iV^.  21 

N.  22 

N.  23 


iV.  24 

iV. 


iV.  25 


Butterworth,  J. 

Byles,         

Byrom,  J 


Calvin,  John 

Cambridge,  Ada- 
Cameron,  Wm 


Carapbelir  Robert, 
Campbell,  Tlios... 
Canitz,  F.  R.  K... 
Carlyle,  Jos.  D.... 
Carpenter,  Jos.  E. 

Cary,  Alice 

Cary,  Plicebe 

Caswall,  Edward.. 

Cawood,  John 

Cecil,  Richard 

Celano,  Thomas... 

Cennick,  John 

Chambers,  J.  D... 
Chandler,  John... 
Chapin,  Edwin  H. 
Chapman,  R.  C... 
Charles,  Mrs.  E... 
Chorion,  Edward. 

Clarlv,  VVm.  G 

Clarke,  J.  F 

Claudius,  Matth... 

Clausnitzer,  T 

Clayton,  George... 

Cleaveland,  B 

Clemens,  A.  St 

Cobbin,  Ingram... 
Codner,  Elizabeth 
Coffin,  Charles.... 
Collins,  Charles... 

Collins,  Henry 

Collyer,  Wm.  B... 
Colver,  Nathaniel 
Conder,  Joan  E... 
Conder,  Josiah.... 
Cook,  Russell  S... 

Cooper,  John 

Copeland,  Wm.  J. 

Cosin,  John 

Cosmas,  S 

Cotterill,  Thomas. 
Cotton.  Nathan'}.. 
Coverdale,  Myles. 

Cowper,  Wm 

Coxe,  Arthur  C... 
Crabbe,  George.... 
Crasselius,  Barth. 
Crewdson,  Jane... 


Eng... 

U.S... 
Eng... 

Switz. 
Eng... 
Scot... 
Sec ... 
Scot... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.S... 
U.S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
En-... 


Eng... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

U.S... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

U.S... 

U.S... 

Ger... 

Ger ... 

Eng... 

U.S... 

Egypt 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Fran.. 

U.S... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

U.S... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

U.S... 

Eng.. 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Syria . 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

U.S... 

Eng... 

Prus.. 

Ens 


Birth  ...Death 


...  (184t))... 

i69l"!!i763 


1500. 
1844. 
1751. 

17  jY. 
1654. 
175t). 
1813. 
1820. 
1824. 
1814. 
1775. 
1748. 


.1564 


.1811 
,1868 
.1844 
.1699 
.1804 

.1870 
.1871 


1717. 


.1852 
.1810 
.1255 
.1755 


1806. 
1814. 
1837. 


lyut) 

1810. ..1843 

1810 

1743... 1815 
1619. ..1684 
1783. ..1862 

1717 

217 

1777. ..1851 
...(1860)... 
1676... 1749 

1823 

(1852) 
1782...  1854 

179  1 

1796 

1789. ..1855 

1814. ..1864 

(1810) 

(1848) 

1594. ..1672 

760 

1779. ..1823 
1707. ..1788 
1488...1569 
1731. ..1800 

1818 

1754. ..1832 
1677. ..1724 
1809. ..1863 


C.  Eng.- 

Cong 

Ch.  Eng. 

Pres.*..-. 
Ch.  Eng. 

Pres 

Cath 

Pres 

Luth 

C.  Eng.- 
Ch.  Eng. 

Univ 

Univ 

Cath.* .. 
C.  Eng.--^ 
Ch.  Eng. 

Cath 

Moray.  * 
Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.« 
Univ.''=-  ., 


FiKST  Link  op  one  of  • 


Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.« 


Unit'n. 
Luth.... 
Luth.». 
Cong.*, 
Bapt.... 


Cong.*.., 
Ch.  Eng, 
Cath.*.... 
Pres.*.... 
Cath.*..., 
Cong.*.., 

Baj)t 

Cong 

Cong.*... 
Cong.*... 
Ch.  Eng, 
C.  Eng.- 
C.  Eng.* 
Gr.  Ch.* 
C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.* 
C.  Eng.* 
Epis.*  ... 
C.  Eng.* 
Luth.*... 
Ch.  Eng. 


Spirit  of  wisdom,  guide  thine 
When  wild  confusion  wrecks  the 
My  spirit  longs  for  thee. 

I  greet  thee,  who  my  sure  Redeem 
Humbly  now, with  deepcontrition 
How  bright  these  glorious  spirits 
At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we  sing. 
When  Jordan  hushed  his  waters 
Come,  my  soul,  awake  !  'tis 
Lord,  when  we  bow  before  thy 
Lord  and  Father  of  creation. 
I  cannot  plainly  see  the  way. 
One  sweetly  solemn  thought. 
Jesus,  the  very  thought -of  thee. 
Hark  !  what  mean  those  holy 
Cease  here  longer  to  detain  me. 
The  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful 
Children  of  the  heavenly  King. 
Let  every  heart  exulting  sing. 
Christ  is  our  corner  stone. 
Now,  host  M'ith  host  assembling. 
My  soul,  amid  this  stormy  world. 
A  hymn  of  glory  let  us  sing. 
God  of  grace,  O  let  thy  light. 
We  have  met  in  peace  together. 
Ilast  thou  wasted  all  thy  powers  ? 
The  moon  hath  risen  on  high. 
Gracious  Jesu  !  in  thy  name. 
From  yon  delusive  scene. 
Oh  !  could  I  find  from  day  to  day. 
Shepherd  of  tender  youth. 
If  'tis  sweet  to  mingle  where. 
Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  bless- 
Once  more  the  solemn  season 
Far  beyond  this  world  of  sorrow. 
Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  God,  my  all 
Return,  O  wanderer,  return. 
Weep  for  the  lost,  thy  Saviour 
The  hours  of  evening  close. 
Bread  of  heaven,  on  thee  we  feed. 
Just  as  thou  art,  without  one 
Father  of  heaven,  whose  love 
Jesus,  the  world's  redeeming 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls 
Christ  is  born,  exalt  his  name. 
O'er  the  realms  of  pagan  darkness 
Why,  O  my  soul,  O  why 
O  Holy  Spirit  our  Comforter 
There  is  a  fountain  filled  with 
We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling. 
Pilgrim,  burdened  with  thy  sin. 
Awake,  O  man,  and  from  thee 
I've  found  a  joy  in  sorrow. 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


539 


122 


Croly,  George 

Crosby,  Mrs.  F.  J. 
Grossman,  Sam'l.. 

Crosswel],  Wiu 

Creutziger,  E 

Cruttenden,  E 

Cuniniins,  J.  J 

Cunningham,  J.  W 
Cutting,  S.  S 


364 

jV.27 


iV^.  28 


.V.  M 


128 


iV^.  30 


jV.  31 
150 


^.  32 


Dach,  Simon 

Dale,  Thomas 

Daniiani,  Peter.... 
Davies,  Samuel.... 

Davis,  Eliel 

Davis,  Thomas 

Dayman,  Edw.  A. 
D'Aubigne,J.H.M 
Deacon,  Samuel... 
Decius,  Nicholas.. 
Deck,  James  G.... 
De  Courey,  Rich'd 
De  Fleury,  Maria. 
DelaM.Fouque,  F.  H. 
Deuham,  David... 
Denicke,  David... 
Denny,  Sir  Edw... 

Dent,  Caroline 

Dessler,  Wolf  C... 
Dickinson,  Wm... 
Dickson,  David.... 
Dillon,  Wentw'th. 

Dix,  Wm.  C 

Doane,  Geo.  W.... 

Dobell,  John 

Dober,  Anna 

Doddridge,  Philip 
Downton,  Henry.. 

Dracup,  johu 

Drennan,  Wm 

Drewes,  John  F... 
Drummond,W.  H. 

Dryden,  John 

Duffield,  George... 
Duncan,  Mary  L.. 

Dunn,  E.  P 

Dyer,  Sidney 

Dwight,  John  S... 
Dwight,  Timothy. 

Eastburn,  J.  W.... 

East,  John 

Eber,  Paul 

Ebert,  Jacob 


Ire 

U.S... 
Eng... 
U.S... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.S... 

Ger... 
Eng... 
Italy.. 
U.S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Switz. 
Eng... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 

Ire 

Eng... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 
Ger... 

Ire 

Eng... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 
Scot... 

Ire 

Eng... 
U.S... 
Eng... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 

Ire 

Ger ... 

Ire 

Eng... 
U.S... 
Scot... 


Birth...  Death. 


1780., 
1823. 
1628. 
1804. 


.1860 


1690. 


1780. 
1816 


.1683 
.1854 
.1558 
.1763 
.1867 
.1861 


U.S.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 

U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Ger.. 
Ger.. 


1605. ..1659 
1797... 187U 
988...  1072 
1724... 1761 
1803... 1849 

1810 

...(186Sj... 
1794. .. 187- 
1746... 1816 

1.529 

1802 

1743. ..1803 
...(1791)... 
1777. ..1843 
1791... 1848 
1603. ..1680 

1796 

...  (1855)... 
1660. ..1722 
1816. ..1868 
1583. ..1662 
1633... 1684 

1837 

1799. ..1859 
1757. ..1840 
1713. ..1739 
1702... 1751 

1818 

1795 

17.54. ..1820 

1762 

1772. ..1856 
1632.. .1700 

1818 

1814. ..1840 
1825. ..18b7 

1814 

1812 

1752. ..1817 


C.  Eng.^ 
Meth.... 
C.  Eng.^ 
Epis.*-" .. 

Luth 

Cong.... 
C.  Eng.. 
Ch.  Eng 
Bapt.*.. 


Luth 

C.  Eng.« 
Cath...... 

Pres.*".... 

Bapt.«..., 
C.  Eng.« 
C.  Eng.'f 

Ret:* 

Bapt.*.... 
Luth.«... 
Plym.  B, 
C.  Eng.* 

Bapt 

Ref. 

Bapt.*..., 
Luth.«... 
Plyiu.  B. 


Link  of  one  op  thkir  Hvuk.i. 


Luth 

C.  Eng.*' 
Pres.*.... 

Epis 

Cli.  Eng. 
Epis.®  ... 

Cong 

Morav.... 
Cong.« ... 
C.  Eng.* 
Bapt.*.... 
Unit'n.... 

Ref.® 

Pres.*" .... 

Cath 

Pres.».... 
Pres 

Bapt.*... 
Cong.*... 
Cong.*... 


Lift  up  your  eyes,  ye  sons  of 
Pass  me  not,  O  gentle  Saviour. 
Jerusalem  on  high. 
Lord,  lead  the  wav  the  Saviour 
O  Thou,  of  God  tlie  Father. 
Lord,  didst  thou  die,  but  not  for 
Shall  hymns  of  grateful  love  ? 
From  Calvary  a  cry  was  heard. 
Father,  we  bless  thy  geutle  care. 

Wouldst  thou  inherit  life  with 
When  the  spark  of  lite  is  waning. 
For  the  fount  of  life  eternal. 
Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine. 
From  every  earthly  pleasure. 
O  Paradise  eternal  I  . 
Who  is  this  with  garments  dyed? 
Jesus,  I  thy  trium])hs  sing. 
To  Jordan's  stream  the  Saviour 
All  glory  be  to  God  on  high. 
Lord  Jesus,  are  we  one  with  thee  ? 
Jesus,  at  thy  comnumd. 
Ye  angels,  who  stand  round  the 
My  Saviour,  what  thou  didst  of 
'Mid  scenes  of  confusion  and 
My  God,  I  call  upon  thy  name. 
Light  of  the  lonely  ])ilgrim's 
Jesus,  Saviour  !  Thou  dost  know. 
Jesus,  whose  glory's  streaming 
Hallelujah  !  who  shall  part? 

0  Mother  dear,  Jerusalem. 

The  last  loud  trumpet's  wondrous 
As  with  gladness,  men  of  old. 
Thou  art  the  way,  to  thee  alone. 
Now  is  the  accepted  time. 
Holy  Lamb,  who  thee  receive. 
Grace,  'tis  a  charming  sound. 
For  thy  mercy  and  thy  grace. 
Thanks  to  thy  name,  O  Lord, 
The  heaven  of  heavens  cannot 
My  God  ;  lo,  here  before  thy  face. 
Is  this  the  feast  for  nie  ? 
Creator  Spirit !  by  whose  aid. 
Stand  up  !  stand  up  for  Jesus. 
Jesus,  tender  Shepherd,  hear  me. 
Jesus,  Jesus,  visit  me. 
Go  preach  the  blest  salvation. 
God  bless  our  native  land  !  (alt.) 

1  love  thy  kingdom.  Lord. 


1798...1819;Epis 'o  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  ! 

...  (1836)... jC.  Eng.*|There  is  a  fold  whence  none  can 

1511...1569|Ger.* jIn  anger,  Lord,  rebuke  me  not. 

1549...1614  Luth.*-...  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Prince  of 


540 


Si/nopsls  of  Hymn    Writers. 


Edeling,  Chr.  L.  . 
Edmeston,  James. 

Elliot,  Hubert 

Elliott,  Ciiarlotte.. 
Elliott,  Julia  A.... 
Elveii,  Cornelius.. 
Enfield,  William.. 
England,  Sani'l  S. 
Ephrem,  Syrus.... 
Evans,  James  H... 
Evans,  John  M.... 
Evans,  Jonathan.. 

Faber,  Fred.  W.... 

Fanch,  James 

Fawcett,  John 

Fellows,  John 

Feneberg,  J.  M.... 
Fitch,  Eleazer  T... 
Flemining,  Paul... 
Fletcher,  Samuel.. 

Flittner,  Jolin 

Flovverdew,  Alice. 

Follen,  E.  L 

Ford,  Charles  L... 

Ford,  David  E 

Ford,  James 

Fortuniitus,  V.  II.  C. . 

Fortzsch,  Basil 

Fountain,  John.... 
Fouque,  i)e  la  M.. 

Francis,  Benj 

Frank, John 

Frank,  Solomon... 
Franke,  Aug.  H... 
Freudentheil,  W.  N.  . 
Freyliiighaiisen,  J.  A. 
Freystein,  J.  B.... 
Froth  ingliam,N.L 
Fugger,  Casper.... 

Fulbert,  St 

Furness,  Wm 


Ger ... 

Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
p:ng... 
Turk.. 
Eng... 
U.  S... 
Eng... 

Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Ger ... 


Ger ... 
Eng... 
Ger ... 
Eng... 
U.S... 
Eng... 


Gabb,  James 

Gadsby,  William.. 
Gambold,  John.... 
Gandy,  Sam'l  W.. 

Ganse,  H.  D 

Garve,  Charles  B. 
Gascoigne,  Geo.... 
Gaskeil,  Mrs.E.C. 
Gates,  Mrs.  E.  H.. 
Gauldett,  T.  H..... 
Gellert,  Chr.  F 


Eng... 
Italy.. 
Ger.... 
Eng... 
Ger.... 
Wales 
Ger.... 
Ger.... 
Ger.... 
Ger.... 
Ger.... 
Ger.... 
U.S... 
Ger.... 
Fran.. 
U.S... 

Eng... 
Eng... 
Wales 
Eng... 
Ger.... 
Ger.... 
Eng... 

u.is... 

U.S... 
U.S... 
Ger.... 


Birth. ...Death.       Chitkch. 


1751...181:i 
1791...1St>7 

17SS 

1789. ..1871 

1841 

1797 

1741. ..1797 

1810 

381 

1785. ..1849 

1825 

1749. ..1809 


1815. 
1704. 
1739. 


1751. 
1790. 
1606. 
1785. 
1618. 
1759. 
1787. 


,.1863 
.1767 
.1817 
.1785 
.1812 
.1871 
.1640 
.1863 
..1678 
.1830 


(1828J. 


550...  609 

1619 

1723. ..1800 
1777. ..1843 
1734...  1799 


1618. 
1659. 
1663. 
1771. 


.1677 
.1725 
.1727 
.1853 


1670. ..1739 

1720 

1793 

1617 

1029 

1802 


...(1854)... 
1773... 1844 

1771 

1858 

1822 

1763. ..1841 

1577 

1810... 1865 

1863 

1807...  1851 
1715. ..1769 


Luth.»... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Cong.® ... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Ch.  Eng. 
Bapt.®... 
Unit'n.®. 
Cong® ... 


Bapt.^^ 
Bapt.. 
Cong.-- 

Cath.« 
Bapt.--^ 
Bapt.* 
Bapt.. 
Cath.-' 


Luth 

Cong 

Luth.®... 

Bapt 

Unit'n..., 
Ch.  Eng, 


Ch.  Eng. 
Cath.®.... 
Luth.®... 
Bapt.®.... 

Ilef 

Bapt.*.... 

Luth 

Luth 

Luth.®... 
Luth.®... 
Luth.®... 

Luth 

Unit'n.®. 
Luth.®... 


Unit'n.® 

C.  Eng.^ 
Bapt.®... 
Moray.® 
C.  Eng.^ 


Morav.^ 
Ch.  En£ 


Epis  . 
Luth. 


My  Saviour,  make  me  cleave  to 
Saviour  !  breathe  an  evening 
Prepare  me,  gracious  God. 
Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea. 
Great  Creator,  who  this  day. 
With  broken  heart  and  contrite 
Behold  where  in  a  mortal  form. 
In  anger,  Lord,  rebuke  me  not. 
To  thee,  O  Lord,  loud  praise 
Faint  not,  Christian,  though  the 
Amid  the  joyous  scenes  of  earth. 
Hark  !  the  voice  of  love  and 

Sweet  Saviour,  bless  us  ere  we  go. 
Beyond  the  glittering  starry 
Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds. 
Jesus,  mighty  king  in  Zion. 
The  moon  hatli  risen  on  high. 
Lord,  at  this  closing  hour. 
Where'er  I  go,whate'er  my  task. 
Father  of  life  and  light. 
What  shall  I,  a  sinner,  do  ? 
Fountain  of  mercy,  God  of  love. 
How  sweet  upon  the  Sabbath 
Earthly  joys  no  longer  please  us. 
How  vain  is  all  beneath  the  skies. 
Awake,  my  soul,  awake  to  pray. 
The  God,  whom  enrth  and  sky 
O  Christ,  tliou  briglit  and  morn 
Sinners,  you  are  now  addressed. 
My  Saviour,  what  thou  didst  of 
My  gracious  Kedeemer  1  love. 
Let  who  will  in  thee  rejoice. 
Piest  of  the  weary.  Thou  ! 
What  witliin  nie  and  without. 
The  Father  knows  thee. 
Pure  essence!  Sjjotless  Fount  of 
Rise  my  soul,  to  watch  and  pray, 
Our  Christ  has  reached  his 
We  Christians  may  rejoice  to-day 
Ye  choirs  of  new  Jerusalem. 
Feeble,  heljiless,  how  shall  I. 

Jesus,  thou  Avast  once  a  child. 
Holy  Ghost,  we  look  to  thee. 

0  tell  me  no  more. 

His  be  the  victor's  name. 
Thou,  who  like  the  wind  dost 
Thy  Word,  O  Lord,  like  gentle 
We  that  have  passed  in  slumbers 
Mighty  God,  the  First,  the  Last. 

1  will  sing  you  a  song. 
Jesus,  in  sickness  and  in  pain. 
Jesus  lives  no  longer  now. 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


541 


172 

JV.  37 

iV.  38 


:V.  39 


180 


184 


Gerhardt,  Paul.... 
Gesenius,  Justus... 
Geste,  Guillaume.. 
Gibbons,  Thomas. 

Gilbert,  Aim 

Giles,  Charles 

Giles,  John  E 

Gill,  Thomas  H.... 

Gilmore,  J.  H 

IGisborne,  Thos 

'Good,  John  M 

Goode,  William.... 
Gotter,  Louis  A.... 
Gougli,  Benjamin. 
Gould,  Hannah  F. 
Gould,  Sabine  B... 

Gramlich,  J.  A 

Grauade,  John  A.. 

Grant,  James 

Grant,  Robert 

Graumann,  John.. 

Gray,  Jane  L 

Greding,  John  E.. 
Greene,  Thomas... 
Gregor,  Christ'n... 
Gregory  the  Great 

Greville,  R.  K 

Grlgg,  Josejih 

Groser,  William... 
Griinbeek,  Esther 
Guest,  Benjamin.. 

Guiet,  Charles 

Gunn,  H.  Mayo.... 

Giinther,  C 

Gurney,  A.  T 

Gurney,  John  H... 
Gurney,  Joseph  J. 
Guyon,  Madame... 


Hall,  Mrs.  E.  M... 
^\  40  Hall,  C.  Newman. 

j Hamilton,  R.  W... 
iV^.  41 1  Hammond,  Wm... 

JHankey,  Kate 

190  Harbaugh,  Henry 

Harbottle,  Joseph 

Hardenberg,  F 

Harland,  Edward. 

Harmer,  Sam'l  Y. 

Hartsough,  L 

Harris,  John 

Harrison,  Susan... 

19i;  Hart,  Jose})h 

iV.  42  Hastings,  Thomas 


Ger.. 
Ger... 
Fran. 

Eng.. 
Ens.. 


Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 


Ger... 
U.S.. 
Scot.. 
Scot.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Italy. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Fran. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Fran. 

U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 


Birtb... Death.       Chub 


1606. ..1676 

1601. ..1671 

1702 

1720  ..1785 
1782... 1866 
1783. ..1867 

1805 

1819 

....(1870).... 
1758... 1846 
1764... 1827 
1762. ..1816 
1661. ..1735 
1805 


1834. 
1689. 
1763. 


1785. 
1487. 
1796. 
1676. 
1753 
1723. 
550. 
1794. 
1728. 
1791. 
1717. 
1790. 

isi's'. 

1649. 
1820. 
1802. 
1788. 
1648. 


.1728 
.1807 
.1785 
.1838 
.1541 
.1871 
.1748 


Luth.».. 
Luth.« .. 
Cath.*... 
Cong.*.. 
CODK 


Bapt.*... 
Ch.  Eng, 
Bapt.*... 
Ch.  Eng. 


C.  Eng 
Luth  .. 
Meth.. 


.1801 
.  604 
.1866 
.1768 
.1856 


.1860 
.1684 


,.1704 

.1862 
.1747 
.1717 


U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng., 
U.S. 


....(1870).... 

1816 

1794. ..1848 

1783 

....(1865).... 
1818.. .1867 
1798. ..1864 
1772. ..1801 

1809 

1809 

18— ...1872 
1802. ..1856 
1757... 1784 
1712... 1768 
1784.. .1872 


Luth«.., 
Meth.« . 

Pres 

Ch.  Enc 
Luth«  .. 

Pres 

Luth.®., 
Cong.  ... 


Moray... 
Cath.-... 
Ch.  Eng, 
Pres.*.... 
Bapt.*.... 
Moray..., 
C.  Eng.« 

Cath 

Cong.*... 

Luth 

C.  Eng.« 
C.  Eng.* 
Quak.»... 
Cath 


Cong.* 
Cong.* 
Moray. 


First  Line  of  onb  of  THErR  Hymns. 


Ref.*.. 
Bapt... 
Moray. 
C.  Eng 


Meth.*. 
Cong.*. 
Cong.... 
Cong.* 
Pres 


Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs. 
When  sorrow  and  remorse. 
The  Slie])herd  now  was  smitten. 
Great  God,  is  not  thy  promise? 
Hark  !  the  sounds  of  joy  and 
This  world  is  poor  from  shore  to 
Hast  thou  said,  exalted  Jesus  ? 
Holy,  delightful  day  ! 
He  leadeth  me,  O  blessed  thought 
A  soldier's  course  from  battles. 
Not  worlds  on  worlds  in  phalanx 
^■jJPraise  ye  Jehoyah's  name. 
O  Cross,  we  hail  thy  bitter  reign. 
Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die 
O  thou,  who  hast  spread  out  the 
Onward,  Christian  soldiers. 
When  the  last  agony  draws  nigh. 
Sweet  rivers  of  redeeming  love. 
O  Zion,  afflicted  with  waye  upou 
When  gathering  clouds  around 
My  soul,  now  }iraise  thy  Maker. 
Hark  to  the  solemn  bell ! 
Him  on  yonder  cross  I  loye. 
It  is  the  Lord  enthroned  in  light. 
Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator, 
O  God,  from  thee  alone. 
Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be  ? 
Praise  the  Redeemer,  almighty 
Grace,  grace,  oh  !  that's  a  joyful 
Heavenly  Father,  may  thy  loye. 

0  Word  of  God  above. 

To  realms  beyond  the  sounding 
With  joyful  heart  your  j^raises 
Come,  ye  lofty,  come,  ye  lowly. 
Lord,  as  to  thy  dear  cross  we  flee. 
Let  deepest  silence  all  around. 

1  would  love  thee,  God  and  Fath 

I  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus  say, 
Hallelujah  !  joyful  raise. 
Though  poor  in  lot  and  scorned 
Awake  and  sing  the  song. 
I  love  to  tell  the  story. 
Jesus,  I  live  to  thee. 
See  how  the  fruitless  fig-tree. 
What  had  I  been,  if  thou  wert  not 
Lord,  when  earthly  comforts  flee 
In  the  Christian's  home  in  glory. 
I  hear  thy  welcome  voice. 
Light  up  this  house  with  glory, 
I  languish  for  a  sight. 
Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and 
To-day  the  Saviour  calls,  (alt.) 


542 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


Hatfield,  Edw.  F.. 
201  Havergal,  W.  H... 

200|Havergal,  F.  R 

2f.  43  Haweis,  Tlionias... 

Hawks,    Mrs.A.S. 

Hawkins,  Ernest.. 

Hawksworth,  J.... 

Havn,  Henriet.  L. 
205  Heber,  Reginald... 

Heerniann,  John.. 

Heginbothara,  0... 

Held,  Henrj' 

Heliubold,  Lewis.. 

Heiuans, Felicia  D 

Hensel,  Louisa 

Herberger,  V 

Herbert,  Daniel.... 

Herbert,  George... 

Hermann,  N 

Herman,  J.  G 

Herrick,  Robert... 

Hervey,  James 

Herzog,  John  F... 

Hesse,  John 

Hessenthaler,  M... 

Heusser,  Meta 

Hewett,  John  W.. 

Hey,  William 

Hildegarde,  St 

jHildebert,  Bish.... 
212  Hill,  Rowland 

Hill,  L.  S 

Hiller,  Fred.  C... 

Hiller,  Ph.  F 

Hillhouse,  A.  L.... 

Hinds,  Samuel 

Hinton,  J.  H 

Hofel,  John 

Hoffmann,  G 

Hogg,  James 

Hojer,  Conrad 

Holmes,  O.  W 

Homburg,  E.  C 

Hope.  Henry 

Hopkins,  John 

Hopkins,  Josiah... 

Hopper,  E 

Home,  George 

Hoskins,  Joseph... 

How,  Wm.  ^V 

Huie,  Richard 

Hull  Amelia  M... 

Humphreys,  Jos... 

Hunter,  Wm 


Binh. .. Death.  1     Chuech. 


u.  s... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

U.  S... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Ger  ... 

Eng... 

Ger... 

Eng... 

Ger... 

Ger... 

Wales 

Ger.... 

Pol.... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Ger.... 

Ger.... 

Eng... 

Eng... 

Ger.... 

Ger.... 

Ger.... 

Switz. 

Eng... 

Ger.... 

Ger.... 

Fran..! 

Eng.. 

U.  S.. 

Ger... 

Ger... 

U.S.. 

Eng.. 

Eng.. 

Ger... 

Ger... 

Scot.. 

Ger... 

U.S.. 

Ger... 

Ire.... 

Eng.. 


1807 

1793. ..1870 


.1820 


1732 

1835 

1802. ..18(38 
1715. ..1773 
1724. ..1782 
1783. ..1826 
1585. ..1647 
1744. ..1768 

1643 

1532. ..1598 
1794... 1835 

1798 

1.562...  1627 
1751. ..1833 
1593... 1632 
1561 


Pres.* ... 
C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng, 
C.  Eng.« 


1707 
1591 
1714 
1647 


7. ..1791 


.1758 
.1699 


Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Scot ... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.  S... 


1490... 1547 

1623 

1797 

....(1859).... 
1789... 1854 
1098. ..1179 

1133 

1744... 1833 

1806 

1662. ..1726 
1699. ..1769 
1792. ..1859 
1793. .. 18— 
1791. ..1872 
1600. ..1683 
1658. ..1712 
1773. ..1835 
....(1560).... 

1809 

1605. ..1681 
1809. ..1872 
....(1551).... 
1786. ..1862 

1818 

1730... 1792 
1745. ..1788 
1823(1854) 
1795 


1720 

1811(1842) 


C.  Eng.« 
Ch.  Eng. 
Morav.... 
C.  Eng.« 
Luth»..,. 
Cong.® ... 

Luth 

Luth®  ... 
Ch.  Eng. 

Cath 

Luth 

Cong.« ... 
C.  Eng.* 

Luth 

Luth.*... 
C.  Eng.« 
C.  Eng.« 

Luth 

Luth.*... 

Luth 

Ref. 

C.  Eng.* 
Luth.*... 

Cath 

Cath.*.... 

Ind* 

Bapt 

Luth 

Luth.*... 


C.  Eng.« 
Bapt.*.... 

Luth 

Luth.*... 

Pres 

Luth 

Unit'n... 

Luth 

Pres 

C.  Eng.* 


C.  Eng.* 
Cong.*... 
C.  Eng.* 
Pres 


C.  Ens 
Meth.* 


My  Shepherd's  name  is  love. 
Hosannah  !  raise  the  pealing 
I  gave  my  life  for  thee. 
From  the  cross  uplifted  high. 
I  need  thee  every  hour 
Lord,  a  Saviour's  love  displaying 
In  sleep's  serene  oblivion  laid. 
Seeing  I  am  Jesus'  lamb. 
From  Greenland's  icy  mountains. 
Thou  weepest  o'er  Jerusalem 
God  of  our  life,  thy  various  praise 
Let  the  earth  now  praise  the 
From  God  shall  nought  divide 
The  Saviour  knelt  and  prayed 
Ever  would  I  fain  be  reading. 
Farewell !  I  gladly  bid  thee 
Come,  dear  Lord,  thyself  reveal 
Teach  me,  my  God  and  King. 
Mine  hour  ajjpointed  is  at  hand 
On  wings  of  faith,  ye  thoughts, 
In  the  hour  of  my  distress 
Since  all  the  downward  tracts 
Now  that  the  sun  doth  shine  no 
O  world,  I  now  must  leave  thee 
True  Shepherd,  who  in  love 
Long  hast  thou  wept  and  sorrow 
In  the  name  of  God  the  Father 
Whene'er  thou  sinkest 
O  Fire  of  God,  the  Comforter 
O  pious  Paraclete 
Ye  that  in  his  courts  are  found 
When  floating  on  life's  troubled 
O  Jerusalem,  the  golden 
My  God,  to  thee  I  now  commend 
Trembling  before  thine  awful 
Lord,  shall  thy  children  come 
Once  I  was  estranged  from  God 
O  sweetest  words 
Depart,  my  child, 
O  thou  that  dwellest  in  the  heav 
Ah  God,  my  days  are  dark 
Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar. 
Of  my  life  the  Life,  O  Jesus 
Now  I  have  found  a  friend 
Edited  (I  book  of  Psalms  in  1551. 
Oh  turn  ye.  Oh  turn  ye,  for  why 
Wrecked  and  struggling  in  mid 
See  the  leaves  around  us  falling 
The  time  is  short 
Jesus,  Name  of  wondrous  love. 
O  ye  with  silent  tear. 
There  is  life  for  a  look  at  the 
Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God 
My  heavenly  home  is  bright  and 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


543 


220 


233 


234 


240 
243 


244 


291 


Home.      Binh... Death. 


Huntin»(lon,Lady'Eng. 
Huntington,  F.  D.iU.  S. 


Ilupton,  Job. 
Ilurn,  William.... 
lluttou,  James.... 

IIuss,  John 

Hyde,  Mrs.  A.  B. 


Ide,  George  B.. 
Ingemai'.n,  B.  S.... 
Irons,  Joseph.. 
Irons,  Wm.  J.. 


Jacohi,  John  C 
Jacobus,  de  Bene.. 

James,  R.  S 

Jervis,  Thomas 

Jesse,  Henrv 

John,  St.  D'. 

Johns,  Henry  D... 
Johnson,  Samuel.. 
Jones,  Edmund.... 

Joseph,  St 

Josephson,  Lewis. 
Jowett,  William... 

Joyce,  James 

Judkin,  Thos.  J... 
Judson,  Adonir.... 
Judson,  Saraii  B.. 
Jukes,  Richard.... 

Keble,  John 

Keith,  George 

Kelly,  Thomas 

Kempenfelt,  R 

Kempf,  John 

Kempthorn,  J 

Ken,  Thomas 

Kennedy,  B.  Hall 
Kent,  John 


Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Austr. 
U.  S... 


1707.. 
1819.. 
1762.. 
1754.. 
1715.. 
1373.. 


1791 


,1849 
1829 
1795 
1415 
1872 


Ch.  Eng. 
Epis.*.... 
Bapt.s.... 
Cong.* ... 
Moray.... 

Rei:* 

Cong 


FiBST  Lisi  or  ONE  or  tueis  Hyh.nh. 


When  thou,  my  righieous  Judge, 
Come,  sinner,  to  the  gos[)el  feast, 
(.'ome,  ye  saints,  and  raise  an 
Angels  rejoiced  and  sweetly 
O  teach  us  morecf  thy  blest  ways 
Jesus  Christ,  our  true  salvation. 
And  canst  thou,  sinner,  slight. 


U.  S...  1805. .. 18721  Bapt.*....  Son  of  God,  our  glorious  head 

Den...  [1789... 1862  Luth Through  the  night  of  doubt  and 

Eng. ..•1785. ..1852  Cong.-*.. .Plead  my  cause,  O  Lord  of  hosts. 
Eug...  1812(1848;  C.  Eng.«  [Day  of  wrath,  O  day  of  mourning 


Eng... 
Italy.. 
LI.  S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Syr.... 
U.  S... 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
Gree .. 
Ger.... 
Eug... 
Eng.. 
Eng... 
Burm 
U.  S... 
Eug... 


....(1722).... 

1306 

1824 

1748. ..1833 
1601. ..1663 

780 

....(1865).... 
1822(1846) 
1722.. .1765 
...9th  cent.. 

1809 

....(1806) 
1781. ..1850 
....(1837) 
1788. ..1850 
1803. ..1845 


Ref.« 


Eng.. 

Eng.. 

Ire..., 

Eng., 

Ger... 

Eng.. 

Eng., 

Eng., 

Eng.. 

Kenyon,  A \\5.  S.. 

Kern,  Chris.  G Ger.., 

Kethe,  William....  Eng.. 
Key,  Francis  S....  U  S.., 
Kevmann,  Chris...  Ger.., 
Kidder,  Mrs.  M.  A  U.  S., 

Kill,  Tobiah jGer... 

Killinghall,  JohnEng.. 

King,  Joshua iEng.. 

Kingo,  Bishop Den.. 

Kingsbury,  Wm...  Eng...  1744. ..1818 

Kingsbury,  H U.  S... 1 18— (1850) 

Ki)>pis,  Andrew...  Eug... 1 1725. ..1795 
Klopstock,  F.  G...  Ger....  1 1724.. .1803 


1792.. .1866 
17— ...17 
1769. ..1855 
1718. ..1782 
1604...  1625 
1775.. .1838 
1637. ..1711 

1804 

1766...  1843 

18— 

1792. ..1835 

1561 

1779.. .1843 
1607. ..1656 

1825 

1584.. .1627 

1740 

....(1840).... 


Luth Holy  Ghost!  dispel  our  darkness 

Cath I  At  the  cro.ss  her  station  keeping. 

Bapt.*...j  Hastening  ou  to  death's  dark 
Unit'n'*..]  With  joy  we  lift  our  eyes. 
Bapt.*....  Unclean  !  unclean  and  full  of 
Greek.---..i'Tis  the  day  of  resurrection 

"•••  Come,  Kingdom  of  our  God. 

Unit'n-"..  Father !  in  thy  mysterious  pres- 
Bapt.*...  Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose 
.Jesus,  Lord  of  life  eternal 
Now  darkness  over  all  is  spread 

■■=•  While  conscious  sinners  tremble 

C.  Eng.---  Disowned  of  heaven,  by  man 
Ch.  Eng.  Enthroned  is  Jesus  now. 
Bapt.*...  Our  Father  God,  who  art  in 

Bapt Proclaim  the  lofty  praise 

Meth What  is  this  that  steals  upon  my 


Sun  of  my  soul,  thou  Saviour 
How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints 
Hark,  ten  thousand  harps  and 
Burst,  ye  emerald  gates  !  and 
When  in  the  pains  of  death  my 
Praise  the  Loi-d,  ye  heavens. 
Praise  God,  from  whom  all 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  take  thy  rest. 
Where  two  or  three  together 
Go,  work  while  you  may. 
Oh  how  could  I  "forget  Him  ! 
All  people,  that  ou  earth  do 
Lord,  with  glowing  heart  I  praise 
Jesus,  will  I  never  leave. 
Look  on  me.  Saviour  mine. 
Lord  God,  now  open  wide  thy 
In  all  my  troubles  sharp  and 
When  his  salvation  bringing. 
Over  Kedron  Jesus  treadeth 
Great,  Lord  of  all,  thy  churches 
Once  was  heard  the  song  of 
Great  God,  in  vain  man's  narrow 
Lord,  remove  the  veil  away. 


C.  Eng.« 

Bapt 

Indep.®.. 
Ch.  Eng, 
Luth.®... 
C.  Eng.® 
C.  Eng.® 
C.  Eng.® 

Cong 

Bapt.®... 
Luth.®,.. 
C.  Eng.® 

Epis 

Luth.®.., 

Meth 

Luth.®... 
Consr.®... 


Luth.®... 
Cong.®... 
Pres.®.... 
Unit'n®.. 
Luth 


644 


Synojjsis  of  Hymn   Writei's. 


Knapp,  Albert 

KuoUis,  F.  M 

KnoiT,  Christian.. 
Knowles,  Jas.  D... 

Koitsch,  C.J 

Kriiinniaclier,F.A 

Kiiutli,  John  8 Ger  . 

Kynaston,  Herb...  En 


i  Birth. ...Death. 


Ger. 


Ger..., 
U.  S... 
Ger ... 
Ger ... 


Lagniel,  John 

Landon,  Letitia  E 
Langliecker,  E.  C.  G.  . 

Lange,  Ernest 

Lange,  .loacliini... 

Lange,  J.  C 

Lange,  John  P 

Langford,  John.... 
Langford,  G.  W... 
Latrobe,  Jolin  A... 

Laurenti,  Laur 

Layritz,  Fred 

Lee,  Fred.  G 

Lee,  Riciiard 

Leeson,  Jane  E.... 

Lehr,  L.  F.  F 

Leland,  John 

Lieliich,  Ehrenfr.. 
Liguori,  St.  Alpon 

Lintleinann,  J 

Lingley,  James.... 
Littledale,  R.  F.... 
Lloyde,  Wm.  F.... 
472  Long,  Edwin  M... 
Longfellow,  H.W. 
Louisa,  Henrietta. 
Lowrie,  John  M... 

Lowry,  Robert 

Ludaeniilia,  Eliz.. 

Luke,  Jemima 

Luther,  Martin.... 
Lynch,  Thos.  T.... 
Lyte,  H.  Francis.. 


JV.  44 
262 

274 


Eng... 
Ger.... 
U.  S... 
Ger.... 
Italy.. 
Ger.... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.  S... 
U.  S... 
Ger.... 
U.  S... 
U.  S... 
Ger.... 
Eng... 
Ger.... 
Eng... 
Eng... 

Scot... 
Scot ... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Switz. 

u.  s... 

Eng... 

Eng  .. 

Eng... 

Maria,  Q.  of  Hun.! Hung 


Macduff,  John  R.. 
Maekay,  Margaret 

Madan,  Judith 

Madan,  ^lartin 

Maitland, Fanny  F 
Malan,  C.  H.  A.... 

Manley,  Basil 

Mant,  Richard 

JIarch,  Henry 

Mardley,  John 


Eng. 


Ger. 
Ger. 
Ger. 
Ger. 
Ger . 
Eng. 


1798. ..1864 
18— (1860) 
1636. ..1689 
1798. ..1838 

1735 

1768. ..1845 
1700. ..1779 
1809 


Eng. 
Ger.. 
Ger.. 
Eng. 


1728 

1802 

1792. ..1843 
1650... 1727 
1670. ..1744 
1669. ..1756 

1802 

1790 

....(1847).... 
....(1841).... 
1660... 1722 
....(1844).... 

1868 

....(1794).... 

1853 

1709. ..1744 
1754. ..1841 
1713. ..1780 
1696. ..1787 
1580...  1630 
....fl829).... 
....(1867).... 
1791... 1853 

1827 

1807 

1627. ..1667 

18— 

1826 

1640. ..1672 

1813 

1483. ..1546 
1818. ..1871 
1793. ..1847 


Church. 


Luth.« 


Luth 

Bapt 

Luth  .... 
Ref.-?.... 
Luth.*.. 
C.  Eng.^ 


Luth..., 
Luth.... 
Luth.* 
Luth.*. 
Evaug. 
Bapt.*. 


C.  Eng.^ 
Luth.... 
Luth.*.. 
C.  Eng.' 


....(1853).... 
....(1832).... 
....(1763).... 
1726... 1790 
....(1827).... 
1787. ..1864  Ref.* 


Luth.*... 
Bapt.*.... 
Luth.*... 
Cath.*.... 

Luth 

Bapt 

C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng.! 
Pres.*... 
Unit'n... 
Ref 

Bapt.*... 

Luth 

Cong 

Luth.*.. 
Cong.*.. 
C.  Eng.« 

Pres.* ... 


Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.« 


1825... 
1776. ..1848 
1790  .. 

1.562  Ch.  Enf 

l505...1558!Luth. 


Bapt.*... 
C.  Eng.^ 
Cong. 


O  Father,  Thou,  who  hast  created 
There  is  no  night  in  heaven. 
Dayspring  of  Eternity. 
O  God,  through  countless  worlds 
O  Fountain  eternal  of  life  and 
Though  love  may  wee])  with 
Yes,  there  remaineth  yet  a  rest. 
Jesus,  solace  of  my  soul. 

Doth  He  who  came  the  lost  to 
While  yet  the  youthful  spirit. 
What  shall  I  be,  my  Lord,  when 
O  God,  Thou  bottomless  abyss. 
O  God,  what  offering  shall  I 
Jesus,  thou  art  my  heart's  delight 
My  Father  is  the  mighty  Lord. 
Now  begin  the  heavenly  theme. 
Speak  gently,  it  is  better  far. 

0  bring  to  Jehovah  your  tribute 
Rejoice,  rejoice,  believers. 

Ah,  Jesus,  the  merit 
Laud  the  grace  of  God  victorious 
When  I  view  my  Saviour  bleeii- 
Loving  Shepherd  of  thv  sheep 
Why  halt  thus,  O  deluded  heart? 
The  day  is  past  and  gone.     The 
Come,  Christians,  praise  your 
My  Jesus,  say  what  wretch  has 
In  Thee  is  gladness. 
Once  more  we  leave  the  busy 
Wiote  hymns  for  "  The  l'f.nph\-i  Uyvxnal."' 
Wait,  my  soul,  upon  the  Lord. 
Draw  me.  Saviour,  nearer. 
Tell  me  not  in  mournful  numbers 
Jesus,  my  Redeemer  lives. 
Jesus,  Author  of  Salvation. 
Shall  we  gather  at  the  river 
Draw  me  to  thee,  Lord  Jesus. 

1  think,  when  I  read  that  sweet 
Out  of  the  deep,  O  Lord,  we  call. 
Gracious  Spirit,  dwell  with  me. 
Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the 

Oh  do  not,  blessed  Lord,  depart. 
Asleep  in  .lesus  !  blessed  sleep. 
In  this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow. 
Now  begin  the  heavenly  theme. 
Much  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe. 
No,  no,  it  is  not  dying. 
Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord. 
Come,  Holy  Ghost,  my  soul 
No  more,  my  God,  I  boast  no 
O  Lord,  turn  not  thy  face  from 
Can  I  my  fate  no  more  withstand 


Synopsis  of  Hymn    Writas. 


545 


iV.  45 


280 


X.  46 


X.  4; 


290 


X  48 


Ho.v 


288 


Marot,  Samuel 

Marperger,  B.  W.. 

Marriott,  John 

Marsden,  Joshua.. 

Mason,  John 

Mason,  William... 

Masters,  Mary 

Matthew,  Julia  A. 
Matthesius,  J.  E... 
Maude,  Mary  F.... 
Maxwell,  James... 
McAll,  Robert  S... 
McCheyne,  K.  M.. 

McDonald,  W 

Medley,  Samuel... 
Meinhold,  J.  W... 

Mentzer,  John 

Merrick,  James.... 
Metrophiines  of  Smvr. 
Mevfart,  J.  M. ..'... 
Middleton,  T.  F... 
Midlane,  Albert... 

ililes,  Sarah  E 

Millard,  James  E. 
Mills,  Elizabeth... 

Mills,  Henry 

Miller,  W.  E 

Milman,  II.  II 

Milton,  John 

Mitchel,  AVilliam. 
Mogridge,  George. 

Moir,  Dayid  M 

Monod,  Adolphe... 
Monsell,  J.  S.  B... 
Montgomery,  J  as. 
Moore,  Hannah... 

Moore,  Henry 

Moore,  Thomas.... 
Moraht,  Adolph... 

More,  Henry 

Morell,  Thomas... 
Morris,  Eliza  F.... 
Morris,  George  P. 
Morriso^i,  Jolin.... 
Mote,  Edward...... 

Moultrie,  G 

Moultrie,  Mary  D. 

Mowes,  Henry 

Muhlenberg,  W^A 
Mlihlmann,  John. 
MUller,  Michael... 

Xaclitenhofer,C.F 
Nason,  Ellas 


Ger... 

Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Ger .. 
Eng.. 
Scot- 
Scot.. 
Scot.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Turk. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 


Eng.. 
Eng-.. 


Eng.. 
Scot.. 
Fran. 
Ire.... 
Scot.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Ire.... 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Scot .. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
U.S.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 


Birth. ...Death. 


1770.. . 18— 
1681. ..1746 
1780. ..1825 
1777... 1637 

1694 

1725. ..1791 
1702(1755) 

18— 

1504. ..1565 
....(1848).... 


1792. ..1838 
1813. ..1843 
18— (1858) 
17.38. ..1799 
1797... 1851 
1658. ..1734 
1720.. .1769 

910 

1590. ..1642 
1769. ..1822 

1825 

....(1840).... 
1821(1848) 
1805...  1829 
1786.. .1867 
1766.. .1839 
1791. ..1868 
1608. ..1674 
....(1831) 
17S7...1854 
1798. ..1851 

1800 

1811. ..1875 
1771. ..1854 
1743. ..1833 
1732... 1802 
1779. ..1852 

1805 

1614.. .1687 
1781. ..1840 
1821(1858) 
18- (1858) 
1749. ..1798 

1797 

....(1867).... 
....(1860).... 
1793...  1834 

1796 

1.543. ..1613 
1673. ..1704 


Evang-* 
Luth.s.. 
C.  Eng.^ 
Meth.---., 
C.  Eng.' 
C.  Eng.' 


E]>)s 

Luth.«., 
Ch.  Enc 
Meth...^ 


Pres.  *  .. 
Meth.*., 
Bapt.«-.. 
Luth.*., 
Luth.».. 
C.  Eng.' 
Gr.  Ch.' 
Luth.*.. 
C.  Eng.' 


C.  Eng. 
Ch.  Eui 


C.  Eng 
Ba])t... 


Ch.  Em 
Pres....': 


C.  Eng.^ 
Moray... 
Ch.  Eng 
Unit'n*. 

Cath 

Luth.*.. 
C.  Eng.' 
Cong.*.. 


FIF.ST   LiNB  OP  ONE  OF  THEIR  HVMNS. 


Pres.*.... 
Bapt.*.... 
C.  Eng.« 
Ch.  Eng. 
Luth.®... 
Epis.* ... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 


From  thy  heayenly  throne. 
Who  seeks  in  weakness  an  excuse 
Thou,  whose  almighty  word. 
Go,  ye  messengers  ot  Cod. 
Blest  day  of  God,  most  calm,  most 
Again  returns  the  day  of  holy 
'Tis  religion  that  can  giye. 
"  Peace  upon  earth !  "  the  angels 
My  inmost  heart  now  raises. 
Thine  foreyer,  God  of  loye. 
Didst  thou,  dear  Saviour,  suifer 
Hark  !  how  the  choral  song  of 
I  once  was  a  stranger  to  grace 
I  am  coming  to  the  cross. 
Awake,  my  soul,  in  joyful  lays. 
Gentle  Shepherd,  thou  hast 
Oh  that  I  had  a  thousand  tongues 
The  festal  morn,  my  God,  is  come 

0  Unity  of  threefold  Light. 
Jerusalem,  thou  city  fair  and 
As  o'er  the  j)ast  my  memory 
Onward,  upward,  homeward. 
Thou  who  didst  stoop  below. 
God  eternal !  Lord  (, fall! 
We  speak  of  tlie  realms  of  the 
The  trumpet  sounds  !  the  day 
Our  souls,  by  loye  together  knit 
Ride  on,  ride  on  in  majesty. 
Let  us  with  a  gladsome  mind. 
Jesus,  tliy  loye  shall  Ave  forget 
The  Son  of  God,  the  Lord  of  life. 
Oh  !  who  is  like  the  mighty  one. 
God  of  my  health,  I  would  thy 
Birds  have  their  quiet  nest. 
Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere 

Oh  how  wondrous  is  the  story  ! 
My  God,  thy  boundless  love. 
Come,  ye  disconsolate,  where'er 
From  Thy  heayenly  throne. 
On  all  the  earth,  Tny  Sjiirit. 
Go,  and  the  Saviour's  grace 
God  of  pity,  God  of  grace. 
Searcher  of  hearts  !  from  mine 
The  race  that  long  in  darkness. 
My  hope  is  built  on  nothing  less. 
Brother,  now  tliy  toils  are  over. 
Agnes,  fair  martyr 
Thus  said  the  Lord,  thy  days  of 

1  would  not  live  always,  I  ask 
Who  puts  his  trust  in  God  most 
Good  and  pleasant  'tis  to  see 


Ger....  1624...1685  Luth.*...  So,  Lord,  thou  goest  forth  to  die. 
U.  S (1857)....! jjesus  only,  when  the  morning 


'AG 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Wrlta'S. 


Naur,  Elias  E.. 
Neale,  John  Ji. 
Neaiider,  Joachim 
Needliain,  John... 

Nelson,  David 

'Nelson,  Earl 

Nettleton,  As 

Neumark,  George. 

Neumeister,  E 

Neumann,  Casper 

Neumann,  G 

Neunherz,  John... 

Neuss,  II.  G 

Nevin,  Edwin  H.. 
Newman,  John  H 
Newton,  James.... 

Newton,  John 

Nicholas,  T.  G 

Nicholson,  James. 
Nicolai,  Dr.  Phil.. 
Noel,  Baptist  W^.. 
Noel,  Gerard  T.... 
Norton,  Andrew... 
Notker,  Balbulus. 
Nunn,  Marianne.. 
Nyberg,  L.  T 

Oakeley,  Fred 

Oberlin,  John  F... 
Occom,  Samsoti.... 
Odo,  St.(ofCluny) 

Ogilvie,  John 

Olearius,  John 

Olivers,  Thomas... 
Onderdonk,  H.  U. 
Onslow,  Phipps.... 

Opie,  Amelia 

Osier,  Edward 

Oswald,  Henry 


Pal,  Krishna 

Palgrave,  Fr.  T.... 
Palmer,  Phcebe.... 

Palmer,  Ray 

Pappus,  John 

Park,  Roswell 

Park,  Thomas 

Parker,  John 

Parr,  ifarriet 

Parson,  Eliz 

Patrick,  John 

Paulus,  Diaconus. 
Peabody,  W.  B.  O. 
Pearce,  John 


Home.     Birlh... .Death. 


Den.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 


Ent 


Eng... 
Ger.... 
U.  S... 
Fran.. 
Scot... 
Ger ... 
Wales 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Ger.... 

Ind.... 

Eng... 
U.  S... 
U.  S... 
Ger.... 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Italy.. 
U.  S... 


172« 

1818.. .1860 
1640.. .1680 
1710.. .1768 
1793. ..1844 
1823(1864) 
1783. ..1844 
1621. ..1681 
1671. ..1756 
1648  ..1715 
....(1736j.... 
1653. ..1737 
1651. ..1716 
1814(1857) 
1801 (1833) 
1733. ..1790 
1725. ..1807 
1823... 1S60 

18— 

1556... 1608 
1799... 1873 
1782. ..1851 
1786. ..1853 

912 

1779. ..1847 
1720.. .1792 

....(1841).... 
1740. ..1826 
1723. ..1792 
879...  942 
1733. ..1814 
1611. ..1684 
1725... 1799 
'1788. ..1858 
]....(1860).... 
1769. ..1853 
1798. ..1863 
1751. ..1837 

1764. ..1822 

|1S24 

1807. ..1874 

1808 

|1549...1610 
1807. ..1869 
1760...  1835 

18— 

....(1856).... 
jl812(1836) 
....(1679).... 
799 

'  1799...  1847 
'....(1766).... 


Luth 

C.  Eng.^ 
Ref.».... 
Bapt.*.., 
Pres.  •■■... 
Ch.  Eng 
Cong.*.. 
Luth.... 
Luth.«.. 
Luth.® .. 
Morav... 
Luth.*.. 
Luth.*.. 
Ref.*.... 
Cath.*... 
Bapt.*... 
C.  Eng.- 
C.  Eng.- 

Meth 

Luth.*.. 
Bapt.*... 
C.  Eng.-: 
Unit'n .. 
Cath.* .. 


Cath.*.. 
Luth.*.. 
Pres.* .. 
Cath.*.. 
Pres.*.., 
Luth.*.. 
Meth.*. 
Ef  io.* .. 
C.  Eng. 
Quak.... 
Ch.  Eni; 
Ref.....~: 


Bapt.*..., 
Ch.  Eng. 

Meth 

Cong.*.., 
Luth.*.., 
Ei)is.*.... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Meth.*... 


First  Link  op  one  of  their  H\\ 


Ch.  Ent 
Cath.*.^ 
Unit'n* 


When  my  tongue  can  no  more 
Jerusalem,  the  golden 
Holy  Spirit,  once  again. 
Holy  and  reverend  is  tl;e  name. 
My  days  are  gliding  swiftly  by. 
At  thy  birth,  Incarnate  Lord. 
Amazing  sight !  the  Saviour 
Leave  God  to  order  all  thy  ways. 
Jesus  sinners  doth  receive. 
Lord,  on  earth  I  dwell  in  pain. 
At  length  released  from  many 
Sad  with  longing,  sick  with  fears. 
A  new  and  contrite  heart  create. 
Always  with  us,  always  with 
Lead,  kindly  light,  amid  the 
Let  plenteous  grace  descend  on 
Glorious  things  of  Thee  are  s])()k 
Lord,  when  before  thy  throne  we 
Dear  Jesus,  I  long  to  be  perfectly 
Awake,  awake,  lor  night  is  flying 
There's  not  a  bird  without 
If  human  kindness  meets  return. 
My  God,  I  thank  thee. 
In  the  midst  of  life,  behold. 
There  is  a  Friend  above  all  others 
Fatiier,  throned  on  high 

O  come,  all  ye  faithful 
O  Lord,  thy  heavenly  grace 
Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound. 
O  Church,  our  Mother,  speak  his 
Begin  my  soul,  the  exalted  lay. 
See  Cox's  Sacred  Hymns. 
The  God  of  Abra'm  praise. 
The  Spirit  in  our  hearts. 
Hark!  a  glad  exulting  (Transl.) 
There  seems  a  voice  in  every 
O  God  unseen,  yet  ever  near. 
O  let  him  whose  sorrow 

O  thou,  my  soul,  forget  no  more. 
Star  of  morn  and  even. 
Blcs.sed  Bible  !  how  I  love  thee  ! 
My  faith  looks  up  to  thee. 
My  cause  is  God's,  and  I  am  still 
Jesus  spreads  his  banner  o'er  us. 
My  soul,  praise  the  Lord,  seek 
The  blood,  the  blood  is  all  my 
Hear  my  prayer,  O  heavenly 
Jesus,  we  love  to  meet. 
O  God,  we  praise  thee  and 
Greatest  of  prophets,  messenger 
Behold  the  western  evening  light 
All  hail,  the  glorious  morn  ! 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writei's. 


)47 


Home.      Birth., .Death.      Church. 


Pearce,  Samuel.... 
Peek,  Oeorge  B.... 
Perronet,  Edward. 
Peters,  Mary  15... 
Pfefterkoni,  G.  M. 
Pfeil,  C.  C.  L.  von 

Phelps,  S.  D 

Phillips,  Philip.... 

Phillimore,  G 

Philpot,  Charles... 

Pierpont,  John 

Pierson,  A.  T 

Pirie,  Alexander.. 
Pitt,  Christopher.. 
Plumptre,  E.  H.... 
Pollard,  Josephine 
Pope,  Alexander.. 
Porter,  Elbert  S... 

Pott,  Franeis 

Potter,  Tho.  J 

Pratt,  Josiah 

Preiswerk,  S 

Prentiss,  ilrs.  E.P 

Procter,  James 

Prudentius,  A.  C. 

Prvnne,  G.  R 

Puchta,  C.  R.  11... 
Pyer,  John 


Quarles,  Francis., 
Quarles,  John 


Rabanus,  St.  M.... 
Raffles,  Thomas... 

Ramback,  J.  J 

Ravvson,  George... 

Reed,  Andrew 

Reed,  Elizabeth.... 
Reese,  Eli  Yates... 

Reisner,  Adam 

Reusner,  Chris 

Rhodes,  Benj 

Richstein,  Wm.  F. 

Richter,  C.  F 

Richter,  Greg 

Ringwaldt,  B 

Rinkart,  JI 

Rippon,  John 

Rist,  John 

Ritter,  Jacob 

Robert  II.  of  Fran 
Robertson,  Wm.... 
Robins,  Gurdon... 
Robinson,  Ch.  S... 


Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
U.  8.. 
U.  S.. 
Eng.. 

u'.'s.'. 

U.S.. 
Eng.. 

u.'s." 

Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 

Eng.. 
Switz 

Eng.. 
Spain 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 

Eng.. 
Eng.. 

Ger... 
^ng.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Ger... 
Swed. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger.. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Fran. 
Scot.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 


17C6...1799 
18— 

17— ...1792! 

18.5e! 

104(3. ..1732: 
1712.. .1784 

1810 1 

1834 ! 

....(18(33).... 
....(1831).... 
17S5...1S(3G 
1830(1873) 

ISO4I 

1C99...1748 
1821(1863) 

18— 

IC88...1744 

18— 

....(1861).... 
....a860).... 
17(38. ..1844 

1799 

1819(1869) 
....(1858).... 
348...  413 
....(I860).... 
1808. ..1858 
1790.. .1859 


Bapt.*... 
Meth.*.. 
Indep.*. 
Ch.  Eng 
Luth.«.. 

Luth 

Bapt.«... 

Meth 

C.  Eng.- 

Unit'n*. 
Pres.® ... 

Ch.Eng 

Ejiis  .... 
Cath 

ci'Eng/ 
Cath.*... 
C.  Eng.-^ 
Ref» 

Cong.*.. 

Cath 

C.  Eng.-; 
Luth.*.. 
Cong.« .. 


FiEST  Link  op  one  op  theih  Hvwns. 


In  the  floods  of  tribulation. 

Come,  come  to  Jesus. 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name 

Jesus,  how  much  thy  name 

Who  knows  how  near  my  end 

Oh,  blest  the  house,  whate'r 

Christ  who  came  my  soul  to  save 

I  Avill  sing  the  story 

O  Lord  of  health  and  life. 

Again  from  calm  and  sweet 

0  Thou,  to  whom  in  ancient 
To  thee,  O  God,  we  raise. 
Come,  let  us  join  in  songs  of 

On  God  we  build  our  sure  defense 
Hark  !  the  hosts  of  heaven  are 

1  stood  outside  the  gate 

Vital  spark  of  lieavenly  flame  ! 
In  the  far  better  land  of  glory 
Lift  up  your  heads,  eternal  gates. 
Brightly  gleams  our  banner. 
Why  should  our  tears  in  sorrow 
Hark,  the  church  proclaims  her 
ilore  love  to  Thee,  O  Christ ! 
Nothing  either  great  or  small. 
Of  the  Father's  love  begotten. 
Jesu,  meek  and  gentle. 
Lord,  a  whole  long  day  of  pain. 
Met  again  in  Jesus'  name. 


1592. ..1644  Ch.  Eng.  Fountain  of  light  and  living 
1624. ..1665  Ch.  Eng.  O  mother,  dear  Jerusalem. 


776..,  856 
1788. ..1863 
1693. ..1735 

1807 

1787. ..1862 
1794.. .1867 
1816. ..1861 
1471. ..1563 
....(1678).... 
1743... 1815 

18— 

1676. ..1711 

1645 

1530.. .1598 
1586... 1649 
1751. ..1836 
1607. ..1667 
1627. ..1669 

972. ..1031 

1743 

18— 

1829 


Cath.*.. ..'Christ,  the  Father's  mirrored 
Cong.*...;Eiest  hour  when  mortal  man 
Luth.*...!ji  am  baptized  into  thy  name. 
Bapt Praise  ye  the  Lord,  immortal 


Con_ 

Cong 

Meth.*... 

Luth 

Luth 

Meth.*... 

Luth 

Luth 

Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.* ... 
Bapt.*.... 
Luth.*... 

Luth 

Cath 

Pres.*.... 

Bapt 

Pres.*  ... 


Holy  Ghost  with  light  divine. 
My  longing  spirit  faints  to  see. 
Do  this  and  remember  the  blood. 
In  thee,  Lord,  have  I  jiut  my 
Am  I  a  stranger  here,  on  earth 
My  heart  and  voice  I  raise. 
Come,  sinner,  turn  thy  feet. 
O  watchman,  will  the  night  of 
Now  from  earth  retire,  my  heart. 
Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and 
Now  thank  we  all  our  God 
Great  Gotl,  where'r  we  jiitch  our 
How  shall  I  meet  Thee  ? 
Oh,  ye  your  Saviour's  name  who 
Come,  thou  Holy  Spirit,  come. 
A  little  child  the  Saviour  came. 
There  is  a  land  mine  eye  hath 
Saviour,  1  follow  on 


548 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


Robinson,  Geo 

Robinson,  Rob.  ... 

Rodi,i,'ast,  Sam 

Rorison,  Gilb 

Koscommon,  Earl  of.. 
Rossetti,  Chris.  G. 
Rouse,  Louisa  M.. 

Rothe,  John  A 

Rowe,  Elizabeth... 

Rowland,  A.  J 

Rowe,  John 

Russell,  A.T 

Russell,  Wm 

Kutilius,  Martin... 
Ryland,  Jolia  


Saeer,  Gottfried  W 

Sachs,  Hans 

Sachse,  C.  F.  H.... 
Saffery,  Maria  G... 

Sample,  R.  F 

Sandys,  George.... 

Santolius,  M 

Santolius,  Vict 

Scales,  Thomas.... 
Schade,  John  C... 
Schalling,  Martin. 

Scheffler,  John 

Schenk,  H.  Theod 

Schiebeler,  D 

Scliirmer,  Mich'l.. 
Schlegel,  John  A. 
Schmidt,  John  E.. 
Schmolke,  Benj.... 
Schmucker,  S.  S... 
Schneegass,  Cyr... 
Schneesing,  John. 
Seholetield,  Jas.... 

Schroder,  J.  H 

Schubart,  C  F 

SchUtz,  John  .J 

Schweinitz,  H.  C. 
Scott,  Elizabeth... 

Scott,  Jacob  R 

Scott,  Robert  A.... 

Scott,  Thomas 

Scott,  Sir  Walter.. 

Scriver,  Chris 

Seagrave,  Robert.. 
Sears,  Edmund  H. 
Sedulius,  Coelius... 
Selnecker,  Nich... 

Serle,  Ambrose 

Sewai'd,  Theo.  F... 


Eng., 
Eng., 
Ger.., 
Scot. 
Eng., 
Eng.. 
U.  S., 
Ger... 
Eng., 
U.S., 
Eng.. 
Ens:., 


Ger... 
Eng.. 

Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Eng.. 
Fran. 
Fran. 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Ger .. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger.. 
Ger... 
U.  S.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Scot.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 


■  Birth. ...Death. 

....(1842).... 
1735... 1790 
1(549. ..1708 
1821. ..1869 

1(J84 

1830 

18— (1873) 
1688. ..1758 
1674... 1736 

18— 

1764. ..1832 

1806 

....(1861).... 
1550. ..1618 
1753. ..1825 

1635. ..1699 
1494. ..1576 
1785. ..I860 
1773. ..1858 
18— (1868) 
1577. ..1643 
1628...  16S4 
1630... 1697 
1786. ..I860 
1666...  169S 
1532. ..1608 
1624... 1677 

1727 

1741. ..1771 
1606. ..1673 


1721. 
1669. 
1672. 
1799. 


Ger.. 
Eng., 
U.  S. 


.1793 
.1745 
.1737 
.1873 

1597 

1567 

1789. ..1853 
1666. ..1699 
1739. ..1791 
1640...  1690 
1645. ..1722 
....(1764).... 
1815. ..1861 
....(1839).... 

1776 

1771. ..1832 
1629. ..1693 

1693 

1810 

..5th  Cent.. 
1530. ..1592 
1742. ..1812 
1835 


Church. 

Cong 

Bapt.*.... 

Luth 

C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng. 


Meth .. 
Luth.® 
Cong .. 
Baj)t.* 
Ba])t.* 
C.  Ent 


Luth. 
Bapt.- 


Luth 

Luth 

Luth.«... 

Bapt 

Pres.*.... 
C.  Eng.* 
Cath.*.... 
Cath.».... 
Cong.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 

Cath 

Luth.*... 

Luth 

Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Luth.*... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Luth.*... 

Luth 

Ref. 

Luth 

Pres 

Bapt.*.... 
C.  Eng.* 
Pres.®.... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Luth.*... 
C.  Eng.* 
Cong.*... 


FiR.<!T  Link  of 


Luth.*., 
Ch.  Eng 
Pres 


One  sole  baptismal  sign. 
Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  bless- 
Whate'er  my  God  ordains  is  right 
Three  in  One,  and  One  in  Three. 
My  God,  my  Father,  and  my 
What  are  these  that  glow  from 
Precious  Saviour,  thou  hast  saved 
Now  I  have  found  tlie  ground. 
Begin  the  high  celestial  strain. 
There's  rest  in  the  shadow  of 
From  the  table  now  retiring 
O'er  the  dark  sea  of  Galilee. 
More  marred  than  any  man's 
Alas  !  my  Lord  and  God  ! 
.  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  skies. 

Then  I  have  conquered. 
Why  art  thou  thus  cast  down. 
Sen  "Hymns  J'uim  Lavd  of  Luther." 
'Tis  the  great  Fatlier  we  adore. 
I  hear  a. voice,  'tis  soft  and  sweet 
Thou,  who  art  enthroned  above. 
Now,  my  soul,  thy  voice  uprais- 
O  Lord,  how  joyful  'tis  to  see  ! 
Amazing  was  the  grace  ! 
V\) !  yes,  upward  to  thy  gladne.ss 
Lord,  all  my  heart  is  lixed  on 
Jesus,  Jesus  !  visit  me. 
Who  are  these  like  stars  aj^pear. 
How  oft  have  I  the  covenant 
O  Holy  Spirit,  enter  in. 
See  his  hymns  in  "  Chorale  Bool-." 
All  is  fulfilled,  my  heart,  record. 
Hosannah  to  the  Son  of  David. 
From  Calvary's  sacred  mountain 
The  holy  Son,  the  new-born  child. 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  Thee  alone 
Draw  nie,0  draw  me,  my  gracious 
Wisdom's  unexhausted  treasure 
All  things  are  yours. 
All  praise  and  thanks  to  God 
Will  not  that  joyful  be  ? 
All  hail,  incarnate  God. 
To  Thee,  this  temple  we  devote. 
All  glory  be  to  Thee. 
Hasten,  sinner,  to  be  wise. 
The  day  of  wrath,  that  dreadful 
See  An.  6,  HtL^aelVs  P.<alms  and  Hymns. 
Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy 
Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of 
Why  doth  that  impious  Herod 
O  Lord,  my  God,  I  cry  to  Thee. 
Thy  way,  O  Lord,  with  wise 
Go  and  tell  Jesus,  weary,  sin-sick 


Synopsis  of  Hymn   Writers. 


549 


220 
35,8 

iV'.  61 


360 
366 
366 


iV.  55 


-V.  56 
X.  57 


^V.  58 


380 


Seymour,  A.  C.  H. 
Shepherd,  Anne... 
Shepherd,  Thos.... 

Sherwin,  W.  F 

Shirley,  Selina 

Shirley,  Walter.... 
Shrubsole,  Wm.... 

igourney,  Lydia  H .  . 

mith.  Car.  S..;... 

Smith,  George 

Smith,  J.Wheaton 
Smith,  Sir  J.  E.... 
Smith,  Joseph  D.. 
Smith,  Samuel  F.. 
Smith,  Samuel  J.. 
Smyltan,  Geo.  H.. 
Spurgeon,  C.  H.... 

Stammers,  Jos 

Stanley,  Arth.  P... 

Steele,  Anne 

Steunett,  Joseph.. 
Stennett,  Samuel.. 

Sterling,  John 

Sternhold,  Thos.... 
Stevenson,  Wra.... 

Stockton,  T.  H 

Stowe,  Harriet  B.. 

Stowell,  Hugh 

Straphau,  Joseph 
Summers,  Thos.... 

Sutton,  Amos 

Swain,  Joseph 

Swaine,  Edward... 

Tappan,  AVm 

Tate,  Nahum 

Tauler,  John 

Taylor,  Anne 

Taylor,  Clara 

Taylor,  Jane 

Taylor,  Jeremy.... 

Taylor,  John 

Taylor,  Thos.  R... 

Taylor,  Vergil 

Tersteegen,  Ger... 

Thrupp,  D.  A 

Toke,  Emma 

Tonna,  Charl.  E... 

Toplady,  Aug.  M.. 

Tourneaux,  N.  C. 
[Trench,  Rich.  C... 

J  Trend,  Henry 

JTritton,  G 

Tucker,  AVilliam.. 


Ire..., 

Eng., 
Eng.. 
U.  S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
U.S., 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 

u.  s.. 

Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Eng.. 
En^.. 
Eng.. 

U.S.. 
Ire.... 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
U.S.. 
Ger... 
Eng.. 
Eng.. 
Eng.., 
Eng.., 
Fran. 
Eng.., 
Eng... 
Eng.., 
Enar... 


Birth....  Death        Chdbch. 


.1835 


1789 

1809. ..1857 
1809.. .1857 

18— 

1707. ..1791 
1725. ..1786 
1759... 1829 
1791. ..1865 
IS— (1855) 
1803... 1870 
1826 
1759. ..1828 
1816 
1809 
1771 

182- 

1834 

1801 

1815 

1716... 1778 
1663. ..1713 
1727. ..1795 
1806...1.S44 
...1549 

18—  

18— (1871) 

1814 

1799. ..1865 

17.57 

1812 

1804...  18.54 
1761. ..1796 
1795.. .1862 

1795. ..1849 
16.52.. .1715, 
1294. ..1361 
1782. ..1866 

1778 

1783.. .1,824 
1613. ..1667 
1694... 1761 
1807. ..1835 

1817 

1697. ..1769 
1779. ..1847 
....(1S51).... 
1790. ..1,846 
1740.. .1778 
1640.. .1686 

1807 

1804 

....(1861).... 
1731. ..1816 


Ch.  Eng 
Ch.  Eng 
Cong.-  .. 

Bapt 

Ch.  Eng 
C.  Eng.s 
Cong.«.. 

Cong 

Cong 

Cong.*.. 
Bapt.®... 
Unit'n... 
Cong.®.. 
Bapt.*... 

Quak 

C.  Eng.s 
Bapt.*.... 
Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.^;^ 

Bapt 

Bapt.*..., 
Bapt.*..., 
C.  Eng.« 
Ch.  Eng, 

Meth 

Meth.*.., 

Epis 

C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng. 
Meth.*... 
Bapt.*... 
Bapt.*.... 
Cong.* ... 

Cong.*... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Cath.®.... 

Cone: 

Ch.Eng. 

Cong 

C.  Eng.® 
Unit'n®.. 
Cong.* ... 


Ref. 

Ch.  Eng. 
Ch.  Eng. 
Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.* 
Cath.*..., 
C.  Eng.® 
C.  Eng.® 
Ch.  Eng. 
Bapt 


PiR3T  Link  of  onk  op  their  Hymns. 

Awake,  All-conquering  Arm, 
Around  the  throne  of  God  in 
When  wilt  thou  come  unto  me. 
Wake  the  song  of  joy  and  glad- 
Gerierally  knoivn  as  Lady  Huniingdim. 
Lord,  dismiss  us  with  thy  ble.'^s- 
Arm  of  the  Lord  !  awake,  awake 
Laborers  of  Christ,  arise 
Tarry  with  me,  O  my  Saviour. 
Thou  art,  O  Christ,  the  way. 
'Tis  sweet,  in  trials  of  conflicts 
Praise  waits  in  Zion,  Lord,  for 
Just  as  thou  art,  how  wondrous 
My  country,  'tis  of  thee. 
Arise,  my  soul,  with  rapture 
Forty  days  and  forty  nights 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  here 
Breast  the  wave.  Christian 
He  is  gone  beyond  the  skies. 
Father,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss 
Another  six  days'  work  is  done 
On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I 
O  Source  divine,  and  Life  of  all 
The  Lord  descends  from  heaven 
Shall  we  meet  in  heaven,  shall 
The  cross  !  the  cross  !  the  blood- 
Still,  still  with  thee,  when  purple 
From  every  stormy  wind  that 
Blest  is  the  man  whose  heart 
We  are  joyously  voyaging  over 
Hail,  sweetest,  dearest  tie  that 
Come,  ye  souls  by  sin  afflicted. 
Lord  Jesus,  let  thy  watchful  care 

'Tis  midnight  and  on  Olive's 
To  bless  thy  chosen  race. 
There  comes  a  galley  sailing. 
There  is  a  dear  and  hallowed  spot 
What  wondrous  course  could 
Come,  my  fond  fluttering  hi*,irt ! 
Draw  nigh  to  Thy  Jerusalem,  O 
God  of  mercy,  God  of  love. 
I'm  but  a  stranger  here. 
Nothing  but  leaves — the  Spirit    , 
Lo,  God  is  here  ;  let  us  adore. 
Saviour,  like  a  Shepherd  lead  us 
Thou  art  gone  up  on  high 
Sinner,  what  has  earth  to  show  ? 
Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me. 
Angels,  to  our  jubilee. 
Pour  forth  the  oil,  pour  boldly 
Praise,  O  praise  our  Heavenly 
Sing  to  the  Lord  with  heart  and 
Amidst  ten  thousand  anxious 


550 


t^^ynopsis  of  Hymn   Wi'lters. 


Turner,  Daniel.... 
Turney,  Edward. 

Tuttiett,  Lawr 

Twells,  H 


Upham,  R.  T.  C 

Upton,  James 

Urwick,  William. 


Vaughan,  Chas.  J. 
Vaiigluin,  Henry.. 

Venn,  Henry.  

Vinet,  Alexander. 
Voke,  Mrs 


Eng., 
U.S. 
Eng.. 


U.S., 
Eng., 


Walford,  AV.  W.... 

Wallin,  Benj 

Ward  law,  Ralph.. 

Watts,  Alaric  A... 

Watts,  Isaac. 

Wesley,  Charles...! 

Wesley,  John j 

Wesley,  Sam'l,  Sr.' 

Wesley,  Sam'l,  Jr.  i 

WhitHeld,  Fred....' 
486  White,  Henrv  K.. 

Whiting,  VViiliam 

VVIiitU'iiMi-e,  Miss  H. 

Whittier,  John  G. 

Whytehead,  Thos. 

Williams,  Benj.... 

Williams,HelenM 

Williams,  Isaac... 
490  Williams,  Wm 

Willis,  N.  P 

Windgrove,  John. 

Winkler,  Edwin  T 

Winkworth,  Cath. 

Wither,  George.... 

W'itteiueyer,  Mrs.  A. . 

Wolcot,  Samuel... 

Wolf,  Aaron  R 

Wood,  Basil 

Woodford,  Jas.  R. 

Wordsworth,  Chr. 

Wordsworth,  Wm 

Wreford,  John  R. 

Wright,  Philip  J. 

Wyatt,  Henry  H.. 

497  Xavier,  Francis... 
Young,  Andrew... 

498  Zinzeudorf,  N.  L.. 


Eng... 
Wales 
Eng... 
Fran.. 
Eng... 

Eng... 
Eng... 

Scot... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Wales 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
U.  S... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
U.  S... 


Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 
ii^ng... 
Eng... 
Eng... 

Spain 

Scot... 

Ger.... 


Birth. ...Denth. 


1710. ..179S 
1817. ..1872 

1825 

1823  (1868) 

1799. ..1872 
1760. ..1831 
1791. ..1868 


1817 

1621. ..1695 
1724. ..1797 
1797. ..1847 
17— ...18- 


....(1849).... 
1711. ..1782 
1779... 1855 
1797... 1884 
1674. ..1748 
1708. ..1788 
1703. ..1791 
1662. ..1735 
1690... 1739 

1829  

1785. ..1806 

1825 

....(I860).... 

1808 

1815... 1843 
....(1778).... 
1762... 1827 
1802... 1865 
1717. ..1791 
1807. ..1867 
1720. ..1793 
....(1871).... 
1829(1855) 
1.588. ..1667 
18— (1868) 
1813(1869) 
1821. ..1852 
1760. ..1831 
....(1852).... 

1807 

1770. ..1850 
....(1837).... 
1810. ..1863 
....(1859).... 

1506. ..1552 


1810 

1700.. .1760 


Bapt.*.., 
Bapt.*.. 
C.  Eng. 


Bapt.*... 
Cong.* .. 

C.  Eng.-: 
Ch.  Eng 
C.  Eng.^; 


First  Link  op  one  of  thkib  Hymns. 


Cong. 


Bapt.®.... 

Cong.*... 
Ch.  Eng. 

Indep 

C.  Eng.* 
C.  Eng.* 
C.  Eng.* 
C.  Eng.* 
C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng. 
C.  Eng.* 
Ch.  Eng. 

Quak 

C.  Eng.* 
Unit'n*.. 
Unil'n.... 
C.  Eng.* 
Meth.»... 


Meth 

Bapt.*... 
Ch.  Eng. 
Ch.  Eng. 
Meth 


C.  Eng.« 
C.  Eng.« 
C.  Eng.« 
Ch.  Eng 
Pres.*  ... 
Meth.*.. 
C.  Eng.s 

Cath.*,.. 


Pres.... 
Moray.' 


Jesus,  full  of  all  compassion. 
Oh  love  divine  !  oh  matchless 
Go  forward,  Christian  soldier. 
At  even  whene'er  the  sun  was 

Fear  not,  poor  weary  one 
Come,  ye  who  bow  to  sovereign 
How  sweet  to  bless  the  Lord. 

Lord,  whose  temple  once  did 
My  soul,  there  is  a  country 
Thy  miracles  of  love 
Beneath  thy  veil  of  shame  and 
Thy  people.  Lord  !  who  trust 

Sweet  hour  of  prayer,  sweet  hour 
Hail,  mighty  Jesus !  how  divine  ! 
Lift  up  to  God  the  voice  of  praise 
When  shall  we  meet  again  ? 
Salvation  !  O,  the  joyful  sound. 
Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul. 
How  happy  is  the  pilgrim's  lot ! 
Behold  the  Saviour  of  mankind  ! 
From  whence  these  dire  {portents 
I  need  Thee,  precious  Jesus  . 
When  marshalled  on  the  mighty 
Eternal  leather,  strong  to  save 
How  sweet  to  think  that  all  who 
Another  hand  is  beckoning  on. 
Resting  from  His  work  to-day. 
Lord  !  what  our  ears  have  heard  ! 
While  Thee  I  seek,  protecting 

0  heavenly  Jerusalem. 

Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah 
The  perfect  world  by  Adam  trod. 
Hail  !  my  ever  blessed  Jesus. 
Our  land  with  mercies  crowned. 
If  Jesus  be  my  friend. 
Come,  O  come,  with  sacred  lay. 

1  have  entered  tiie  valley  of 
Christ  for  the  world  we  sing. 
Draw  near,  O  Holy  Dove,  draw 
Blest  be  Jehovah,  mighty  Lord. 
Lamb  of  God,  for  sinners  slain. 
O  day  of  rest  and  gladness. 
Not  seldom  clad  in  radiant  vest. 
Lord,  while  for  all  mankind  we 
The  Lord  of  Glory  left  his  throne 
God,  the  Lord,  has  heard  our 

My  God,  I  love  Thee,  not  because 

There  is  a  happy  land. 

Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteous- 


BRIEF  NOTES   REFERRED  TO    IN    THE   SYNOPSIS. 


1.  Adam,  St.  Victor. — Trench  stjles  him  "  The  foremost  amongst  the  sacred 
Latin  poets  of  the  Middle  xVges.  (Jut  of  one  hundred  pieces  at  least  fifty 
are  of  the  highest  excellence." 

2.  Alexander,  SIrs.  C.  F. — Wife  of  the  Rev.  W.  Alexander.  Author  of 
•'Hymns  for  Little  Children,  '  of  which  a  quarter  of  a  cjillion  have  been  sold, 

3.  Allen,  James. — Editor  of  "  The  Kendal  Hymn  Book,"  for  which  he 
wrote  seventy  hymns.  The  precious  hymn,  "Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in 
blessing,"  was  written  by  him,  but  much  altered  and  improved  by  Shirley. 

4.  Aubkr,  Miss  Harriet. — Her  hymns   are  taken  from  her  work,  entitled 
"The  Spirit  of  the    Psalms,   or  a  Compressed   Version  of  the   Psalms  of 
David,"  ( 1829  ).     She  lived  a  retired  life,  and  reached  her  eighty-ninth  year. 

5.  Baker,  Rev.  Henry — His  hymns  are  found  in  "  Hymns  Ancient  and 
Modern,"  ( 1861),  of  which  he  was  the  principal  compiler. 

6.  Bakewell,  .Joh.n. — Lived  to  his  98th  year.  On  his  tomb  it  is  said,  "He 
adorned  the  doctrine  of  God,  our  Saviour  eighty  years,  and  preached  his 
glorious  gospel  about  seventy  years."  He  wrote  for  the  press  after  he 
was  ninety.     He  was  author  of  a  number  of  hymns. 

7.  Baldwin,  Thomas  D.  D. — He  was  in  early  life  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  Connecticut.  In  1790,  became  pastor  of  the  2ud  Baptist  Church, 
Boston.  While  in  this  charge,  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed.  He  died 
suddenly  while  on  a  journey  from  home,  in  1825. 

8.  Barbauld,  Mrs.  Anna. — She  was  llie  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Aikin,  and 
wife  of  Rev.  R.  Barbauld,  a  student  of  Dr.  Doddridge.  Four  editions  of 
her  hymns  were  sold  in  the  year  1773.  In  1775,  she  issued  "Devotional 
Pieces  compiled  from  the  Psalms  of  David."  A  fine  specimen  of  her  poetic 
powers  is  given  in  her  much-admired  hymn,  "  How  blest  the  righteous 
when  he  dies."     Her  peaceful  death  occurred  in  her  eighty-second  year. 

9.  Barton,  Bernard. — He  is  known  as  the  "  Quaker  poet."  His  hymns 
are  taken  from  his  "  Half  dozen  volumes  of  verse,"  which  were  composed 
during  his  forty-years'  clerkship  in  a  bank. 

10.  Bathurst,  William  H. — He  issued  in  1831,  "Psalms  and  Hymns  for 
Public  and  Private  use.'  The  two  hundred  and  six  hymns  were  all  his 
own,  as  well  as  most  of  the  psalms. 

11.  Betiicne,  G.  W.,  D.  D. — His  hymn,  "Oh,  for  the  happy  hour,"  was 
written  in  church,  while  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his  audience,  and  while 
his  heart  w;is  burdened  with  a  "  Longing  for  a  Revival." 

12.  BiLBY,  Thomas. — His  well-known  hymn,  "  Oh,  that  will  be  joyful,''  was 
issued  in  1832.     He  died  in  1872,  aged  seventy-eight. 

13.  Blacklock,  Thomas,  D.  D. — Was  blind  during  the  seventy  j'ears  of  his 
life,  yet  became  quite  learned,  and  was  the  author  of  several  works  in 
prose  and  one  in  poetry. 

14.  Borthwick,  Miss  Jane. — One  of  the  authoresses  of  "  Hymns  from  the 
Land  of  Luther." 


552  ,  Appendix. 

13.  BowRTNG,  Sir  Jon.v. — A  voluminous  writer.  Author  of  "  Matins  and 
Vespers,  with  Hymns  and  Devotional  Pieces,"  { 1823),  and  of  "  Hymns 
as  a  Sequel  to  the  Matins,"'  (  1825). 

16.  Bhown?:,  Simon. — He  was  a  cotemporary  with  Watts.  Among  the  twen- 
ty-three worlis,  from  his  pen,  was  a  hymn-book  entitled,  "  Hymns  and  Spir- 
itual Sontjs."  During  the  last  years  of  his  life,  he  had  s  malady  that  led 
him  to  imagine  that  he  could  not  think,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  as 
Toplady  says,  "  Instead  of  having  no  soul,  he  wrote,  and  reasoned,  and 
prayed  as  if  he  had  two." 

17.  Bruce,  Michael. — This  promising  3'oung  poet  was  found  dead  in  bed, 
one  morning.  He  died  at  twemy-one,  the  same  age  as  Henry  Kiik  White, 
whom  he  resembled  in  many  respects.  After  his  death,  the  poet  Logan 
plagerized  some  of  his  productions. 

18.  BuRDEii,  George. — Widely  known  as  the  author  of  eight  volumes  of 
"Village  Sermons."  In  1784,  he  published  "A  Collection  of  Hymns  from 
Various  Authors,"  in  which  were  several  of  his  own.  His  busy  and  use- 
ful life  reached  its  eightieth  year. 

19.  Gaswall,  Edward. — Transferred  his  relation  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  1847. 

20.  Chandlkr,  John. — Author  of  "  Hymns  of  the  Primitive  Church,"  issued 
in  1837.     He  has  trRnslated  many  hymns  from  the  Latin. 

21.  Clemens,  St. — His  hymn  is  supposed  to  be  the  oldest  e.\'taht. 

22.  CoDNER,  Elizabeth. — Author  of  "The  Missionary  Ship,"  and  "The 
Bible  in  the  Kitchen,"  etc. 

23.  CoLLYER,  William  B. — Mr.  Miller  says:  "For  half  a  century  Dr.  Collyer 
was  one  of  the  most  popular  Dissenting  ministers  in  London."  In  1812, 
he  issued  a  collection  of  hymns,  of  which  fifty-seven  were  by  himself,  and 
in  1837,  another  work,  in  which  were  eighty-nine  hymns  of  his  own  com- 
position. His  Inst  sermon,  delivered  shortly  before  his  death  in  his  seven- 
ty second  year,  was  from  the  text:  "How  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swellings  of 
Jordan." 

24.  CoNDER,  Josiah. — Produced  in  1836  the  first  "Congregational  Hymn 
Book,"  in  which  were  fifty-six  hymns  frnui  his  own  pen. 

25.  Cook,  R.  S. — -He  was  highly  esteemea  as  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the 
American  Tract  Society.  His  hymn  was  prepared  for  the  American 
Messenger,  March,  1850. 

26.  Cottirill,  Thomas. — Author  of  "A  Selection  of  Psalms  and  Hymns  for 
Public  and  Private  Use,"  in  which  twenty-two  hymns  and  a  few  Psalms 
are  attributed  to  him. 

27.  De  Fleury,  Maria.- — Author  of  "Divine  Poems  and  Essays  on  Various 
Subjects."  (1791  ). 

28.  Denny,  Sir  Edward. — His  "Hymns  and  Poems"  appeared  in  1839. 

29.  Doank,  Geo.  W.,  D.  O. — In  18.-J2,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  New  Jersey. 

30.  Duncan,  Mary  L. — Wife  of  llev.  W.  W.  Duncan,  and  author  of  "  Rhymes 
for  My  Children." 

31.  DwiGHT,  John  S. — Son  of  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight. 

33.  Edmeston,  James. — A  London  architect.  Author  of  "Sacred  Lyrics," 
1820;  "The  Cottage  Minstrel,"  1821;  "Closet  Hymns  and  Poems,"  1843; 
"Hymns  for  the  Young,"  184G  ;  and  over  100  hymns  for  Sabbath  Schools. 


Appendix.  553 

3i.  Faber,  F.  W.,  D.  D. — Author  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  hymns.  In  a 
preface,  he  says,  '-It  is  an  immense  mercy  of  God  to  allow  anj-  one  to  do 
the  least  thing  which  brings  souls  nearer  lo  Him."  He  became  a  Roman 
Catholic  in  1846.     His  hymns  are  of  high  repute  among  Protestants. 

35.  Fr.ncis,  BtNJAMiN. — A  Welsliman.  Began  to  preach  when  nineteen 
years  of  age.  Was  ordained  at  Shortnood,  Kngland,  where  he  preached 
for  forty-oue  years.  His  success  occasioned  the  enlargement  of  his  church 
three  times.     He  composed  two  volumes  of  Welsh  hymns.  * 

36.  Gibbons,  Thomas,  D.  D. — An  intimate  friend  of  Whitefield.  Was  pastor 
of  an  Independent  church  for  forty-two  years  Wrote  the  "  Memoir  of 
Dr.  Watts."  His  first  collections  of  hymns  appeared  in  1709;  the  second 
in  1784. 

37.  GiLMORE,  J.  H. — Professor  in  Rochester  University,  New  York.  His 
hymn,"  He  leadeth  me,"  etc.,  was  written  at  the  close  of  a  lecture  on  the 
23rd  Psalm,  in  the  Isi  Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia. 

33.  GooDE,  William. — Author  of  "  New  Version  of  the  Psalms."  Noted  for 
early  and  earnest  piety.     Was  successor  to  the  celebrated  Romaine. 

39.  Grant,  Sir  Robkrt. — English  Governor  of  Bombay,  and  author  of 
"  Sacred  Poems." 

40.  Hall,  C.  Nkwman. — Author  of  the  well-known  work,  "Come  to  Jesus." 
He  is  one  of  the  successors  of  Rowland  Hill. 

41.  Hammond,  William. — Author  of  "  Psalms,  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs" 
issued  in  1745. 

42.  Hastings,  T. — Widely  kno^n  as  a  musician.  Issued  the  "  Union  Min- 
strel" for  Sunday  Schools,  in  1830;  "Spiritual  Songs,"  in  1832;  "Christ- 
ian Psalmist,"  in  1836 ;  "  Devotional  Hymns  and  Religious  Poems,"  in  1850 ; 
and  "Church  Melodies,"  in  1864. 

43.  Haweis,  Thomas. — Author  of  "Carmina  Christo;  or  Hymns  to  the 
Saviour,"  1792.  The  enlarged  edition  of  1808  has  256  hymns  by  the 
author. 

44.  LcKE,  Jemima. — Wife  of  Rev.  Samuel  Luke.  Wrote  her  popular  hymn, 
"I  think  when  read  that  sweet  story  of  old,"  in  a  stage  coach  in  1841. 

45.  Mason,  John. — Author  of  "Spiritual  Songs,"  etc.,  issutd  in  1683.  He 
was  one  of  the  few  who  wrote  good  hy.xins  before  the  time  when  "Watts 
made  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  hyoin-writing  art." 

46.  Mills,  Elizabeth. — Her  hymn,  "  We  speak  of  the  realms  of  the  blest," 
was  written  a  few  weeks  before  her  death,  and  was  suggested  by  the  re- 
mark :  "  We  speak  of  heaven,  but  oh  !  to  be  there." 

47.  Milton,  John. — Author  of  "Nine  Psal  ns  done  in  Metre."  Wrote  the 
psalm,  "Let  us  with  a  gladsome  mind,"  when  but  fifteen  years  of  age. 

48.  MooEE,  Thomas. — The  gifted  Irish  poet.  His  h_\  mns  are  taken  from  his 
"Sacred  Songs,"  33  in  number,  issued  in  1816. 

49.  Neale,  John  M. — Author  of  "  Mediaeval  Hymns,"  1851;  "  Hymns  for 
Children,"  1854  ;  and  numerous  other  works. 

50.  Olivers,  Thomas. — A  convert  through  Whitfield's  preaching.  Of  him 
it  is  said,  "  He  spent  so  many  hours  on  his  knees  in  prayer,  as  to  make 
him  limp  a  little  in  walking."  Though  previous  to  his  conversion  an 
illiterate  shoemaker,  yet  ot  his  hyrnn,  "  The  God  of  Abraham  praise," 
Montgomery  says :  "  There  is  not  in  our  language,  a  lyric,  of  more  majestic 
style,  more  elevated  thought,  or  more  glorious  imagery." 


554  Appendix. 

51.  Raffles,  Dr.  Tho's. — A  popular  and  eloquent  preacher.  Wrote  many 
hymns  for  the  use  of  his  congregation  in  Liverpool,  Eng.,  of  which  he 
continued  the  pastor  for  over  fifteen  years. 

52.  Reed,  Andrew,  D.D. — Compiled  ."The  Hymn  Book,"  for  which  lie  and 
his  wife  wrote  forty  hymns.  When  near  the  end  of  life,  his  hymn,  "  There 
is  an  hour  when  I  must  part,"  was  read  in  his  hearing.  "That  hymn," 
said  he,  "  I  wrote  at  Geneva ;  it  has  brought  comfort  to  many,  and  now  it 
brings  comfort  to  me." 

53.  KippoN,  John. — Commenced,  in  1778,  the  issue  of  his  "  Selection  of 
Hymns  from  the  best  Authors,  with  a  great  numbar  of  Originals."  Over 
thirty  editions  have  been  published.  He  was  pastor  for  63  years  of  a 
Baptist  church  in  London. 

54.  ScHSFFLBR,  JoHN. — Was  the  founder  of  tha  Silesian  or  Mystical  school. 
Is  sometimes  known  as  Angelus  Silesius,  an  adopted  name. 

53.  Swain,  Joseph. — Author  of  the  "Walworth  Hymns."  After  his  con- 
version he  wrote  hymns  to  give  utterance  to  his  new  joy.  It  is  said:  "  A 
friend,  having  overheard  him  singing  these  Christian  hymns,  took  him  to 
hear  Gospel  preaching, — a  privilege  he  had  not  enjoyed  before."  He 
afterwards  became  a  popular  preacher. 

56.  Tappan,  \V.  B  — A  voluminous  religious  poet.  Author  of"  Poems  and 
Lyrics,"  1812,  "Sacred  and  Miscellaneous  Poems,"  1858.  His  life  was  spent 
mainly  in  the  service  of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union. 

57.  Tate,  Nahum. — This  psalm-writer  was  associated  with  Dr.  Nicholas 
Brady  in  rendering  a  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms,  issued  in  1696,  which 
took  the  place  of  the  ''Psalter,"  by  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  published 
in  the  year  1562. 

58.  Tersteegsn,  Gerard. — Author  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  hymns. 
When  sixteen,  he  became  the  subject  of  divine  grace,  and  would  spend 
"whole  nights  in  prayer,  reading  and  meditation."  After  finding  rest  in 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ,  he  wrote  a  dedication  of  himself  to  Christ 
with  his  own  blood.  Having  gained  great  celebrity,  through  his  writings 
and  soul-saving  efforts,  the  sick  in  soul  and  body  flocked,  from  all  coun- 
tries, to  his  "  Pilgrim's  Cottage."  His  t'lie  became  thus  so  much  ab- 
sorbed, that  he  relinquished  his  business, — the  manufacture  of  silk 
ribbons. 

59.  Wesley,  Samuel  Sr. — The  father  of  nineteen  children,  of  which  Charles, 
John,  and  Samuel  became  distinguished.  His  hymn,  "  Behold  the  Saviour 
of  mankind,"  was  rescued  from  the  flames,  with  some  marks  of  the  fire 
upon  it,  at  the  3ame  time  that  his  son,  John,  was  snatched  as  a  l)rand  from 
the  burning.  While  engaged  in  his  old  age  in  writing  a  comment  on  Job 
his  right  arm  became  paralized.  He  afterward  seized  the  pen  with  his 
left  hand,  and  wrote. to  a  friend  saying,  that  he  was  sending  his  left  hand 
to  school  to  learn  to  write  for  Jesus. 

60.  Wesley,  Samuel  Jr.— Brother  of  John  and  Charles.  His  "  Poems  on 
Several  Occasions,"  17H6,  together  with  his  hymns,  evince  considerable 
poetic  talent. 

61.  SiGouRNEY,  L.  H.— Of  her,  it  is  said  :  "  At  three  years  of  age  she  might 
be  seen  reading  her  Bible,"  and  at  "  eight  year?  she  knew  how  to  e.ipress 
her  thoughts  in  writing  with  ease  and  beauty."  In  tier  2ord  year  siie 
issued  tlie  first  or  her  numerous  works,  entitled,  "  Moral  Pieces." 


First  Lines  of  Hymns  Referred  to 
or  Illustrated. 

o 

Abide  with  me,  fast  falls  the  eventide Page  276 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have 439 

A  guilty,  weak  and   helpless  worm 423 

Alas!   and  did  ray  Saviour  bleed 420-423 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'   name 338-342 

Alone,  yet  not  alone,    am  1 83 

Amazing  grace,  how  sweet  the  sound 308 

A  mighty  fortress  is  our   God 270 

And  must  I  part  with  all  I  have 55 

And  must  this  body  die 433 

Another  six  days'  work  is   done 366 

As  the  sun  doth   daily  rise 40 

Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound 324 

Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun 244 

Awake,  my  soul,  in  joyful  lays 280 

Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve 144 

Awake,  my  soul,  to  meet  the  day 135 

Before  Jehovah's  awlul  throne 417 

Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb 408 

Be  present  at  our  table.  Lord 484 

Beyond  the  parting  and  the  meeting 28 

Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 170 

Children  of  the  heavenly  King 260 

Come,   every  pious   heart 369 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove 419,  426 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come 196,  55 

Come,  humble  sinner  in  whose   breast ■. 233 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends   above 476 

Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs 478,  175 

Come  on,  my  partners  in  distress 370 

Come,  0  thou  all  victorious  Lord 465 

Come,  thou   Fount  of  every   blessing 344-349 

Come  to  Jesus,   come  to  Jesus 329 

Come,  we  that  love  the  Lord 260,  619 

Come,  ye  disconsolate t 528,  289  '^ 

Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy 1&6 

Daughter  of  Zion  from  the  dust 

Dear  Christian  people,  now  rejoice * 265 

Dear  Jesus,  let  an  infant   claim 216 

Depth  of  mercy,   can  there  be 464 

Did  Christ  o'er  sinners   weep 54 

Draw  me,  Saviour,  nearer 32 


556  First  lines  of  hymns. 

Fade  each  eaitbly  joy 485 

Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord,  I  flee 99 

Forever  let  my  grateful  heart 51'i 

Forever  with  the  Lord 299 

Forth  to  the  land  of  promise  bound 37 

From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows 376 

From  Greenland's  icy  mountains 205 

From  the  cross   uplifted  high 199 

Gentle  Jesus,  meek  and  mild 285 

Gently,  my  Saviour,   let  me  down 219 

Give  me  the  enlarged  desire 475 

Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise 409 

Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears 172 

,Glory  and   thanks  to  God  we  give 461 

Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night 244,  255,  247,  256 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 283,  336,  120 

Grace  'tis  a  charming  sound 128 

Guide  me,  0  thou  great  Jehovah 49D-495 

Hark  !  my  soul,  it  is  the   Lord 121 

Hark!   ten  thousand  harps  und  voices 243 

Hark!  the  eternal  rends  the  sky 513 

Hear,  gracious  Saviour,  from  thy  throne 14G 

Heavenly  Father,  we  thy  children  meet 258 

Here  at  thy  table,  Lord,  we  meet 3GD 

Hosannah  to  Jesus  on   high 485 

How  are  thy  servants  blessed,  0  Lord 27 

How  blest  the  creature  is,  0  God ■. 9G 

How  charming  is  the   place 369 

How  happy  every  child  of  grace 468 

How  sweet  the  melting  lay 80 

How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds 316 

How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  iiours 183,  256 

How  vain  are  all   things  here  below 407 

I  am  weary  of  my  sin. 279 

If  life's  pleasures  charm  thee 261 

I  gave  my  life  for  thee 201 

I  heard  the   voice  of  Jesus   say 70 

I  lay  my  sins  on  Jesus 73 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've   breath 248 

I  love  thy  kingdom,   Lord 150 

I  love  to   steal  a  while  away 74,  525 

I'n  a  poor  sinner 343 

In  age  and  feebleness  extreme ; 437 

la  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways 350 

In  evil  long  I  took'delight 306 

In  peace  let  me  resign  my  breath 322 

1  send  the  joys  of  earth   away 278 

I  was  a  wandering  sheep 66,  172 

I  would  love  thee,  God  and  Father 189 

I  would  not  live  alway 283 


First  lines  of  hymns.  557 

Jesus,  and   shall  it  ever  be 333,  180 

Jesus,  at  thy  command  364 

Jesus,  I  live  to  thee 194 

Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name 138,  432 

,■*  Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken 274,  277,  183  - 

-Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul 440-460 

Jesus  loves  me,   this  I  know 199 

Jesus,  my  all  to  heaven  is  gone 91 

Jesus,  the  name  high  over  all 466,  495 

^  Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee 56 

Jesus,  this  midday  hour 80 

Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness 478,  498,  230 

Jesus,  "v\e  lift  our  souls  to  thee 524 

Jesus,  where'er  thy  children  meet 101 

Jesus,  who  knows  full  well 310 

Joyfully  on  earth  adore  him 169 

Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea 156-162,  375 

Leave  God  to  order  all  thy  ways., 305 

Let  not  the  errors  of  my  youth 453 

Like  the  sea  that  cannot  rest 450 

Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land 470-474 

Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine 122-123 

Lord,  iu  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear 418 

Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care "15 

Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned 369 

'Alid  scenes  of  confusion  and  creature  complaints 124 

Mighty  God  !  while  angels  bless  thee 348 

My  country,  'tis  of  thee 359 

My  faiib  looks  up  to  thee 334-337 

My  drowsy  powers,  why  sleep  ye  so .....431 

My  God,  I  love  thee,  not  because 4S7 

My  Lord,  how  full  of  sweet  content 1^^ 

Nearer,  ni}-  God,  to  thee 29-31 

No  room  for  mirth  and  trifling  here ^^^ 

Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts 414-416 

0  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth 280,  283 

0  do  not  be  discouraged 321 

0  happy  saints  who  dwell  in  light ^° 

>  0  for  a  closer  walk  with  God 97,  51 1 

O  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 438 

0  glorious  hope  of  perfect  love 3i0 

0  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice ^"^^ 

0  Lord,  another  day  is  flown 4_ 

0  Lord,  I  would  delight  in  thee 353 

O  Lord,  thy  work  revive ''^ 

One  sweetly  solemn  thought '. ^* 

One  there  is  above  all  others 317-320 

0  thou,  my  soul,  forget  no   more 330 

0  turn  ye,  0  turn  ye 324-3-8 

Our  Father,  God,  who  art  ia  heaven 239 


558  First  lines  of  hymns. 

0  what  amazing  words  of  grace 286 

0  where  shall  rest  be  found 298 

Peace,  troabled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan 358 

People  of  the  living  God 299 

^Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow 257-260 

Praise  the  Lord  ye  Gentiles  all 251 

Prayer  was  appointed  to  convey 299,  196 

Prostrate,  dear  Jesus,  at  thy  feet 369 

Religion  is  the  chief  concern 169 

Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me 380-395 

Saviour,  breathe  an  evening  blessing 524 

Servants  of  God,  in  joyful  lays 293 

Since  Jesus  freely  did  appear 65 

Sister,  thou  wast  mild  and  lovely 525 

Show  pity.  Lord,  0  Lord,  forgive 277,  411 

Stop,  poor  sinner,  stop  and  think 323 

;'Sun  of  my  soul,  thou  Saviour  dear 240 

Sweet  hour  of  prayer,  sweet  hour  of  prayer 490 

Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God,  my  King 155 

Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing 551 

Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 38 

The  birds  more  happier  far  than  1 4'9 

The  Lord  himself  my  Shepherd  is 42 

The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare 26 

The  Lord  our  God  is  clothed  with  might 489 

There  all  the  ship's  company  meet 439 

'  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 102 

There  is  a  happy  land , 372 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight 372,  403,  408 

The  Saviour,  0  what  endless  charms 360 

The  spacious  firmament  on  high 26 

Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love 138 

Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave 211 

Though  waves  and  storms  go  over  my  head 449 

Thou  God  of  love,  thou  ever  blest.... 521 

Thou,  0  my  Jesus,  didst  me  embrace ,497 

"'Tis  finished,"  so  the  Saviour  cried 369 

"Watch  and  pray,  watch  and  pray" 472 

When  all  thy  mercies,   0  my  God 26 

When  I  can  read  my  title  clear * 412 

When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross 385,  424-425 

When  marshaled  on  thenightlv  plain 489 

When  rising  from  the  bed  of  death 27 

When  thou,  my  righteous  judge,  shalt  come 220-228 

Where  two  or  three,  together  meet 106 

While  life  prolongs  its  pre'cious  light 150 

While  on  the  verge  of  life  I  stand 136 

Who  knows  how  near  my  life's  expended 52 

Why  vail  thyself  in  gloom.  m_y  heart 357 

Worship  and  thanks  and  blessing 469 


jpRAISEYE    THE    [^DRD 

—J 


1_ 


ILLUSTRATED   HISTORY 


IttadaT  Sciool  Soai 


G 


The  Singing  of  Cliildren. 

§VER  since  "tlie  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all 
the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy/'  the  fresh  music  of 
childhood's  early  morn  has  risen  as  sweet  incense  to 
the  Lord  of  Host.  During  the  great  revival  in  Jerusa- 
lem, in  the  times  of  Nehemiah,  not  only  were  streets  made 
wet  with  the  tears  of  penitence,  as  "all  the  people  wept 
when  they  heard  the  words  of  the  law,"  but  they  were 
also  made  to  resound  with  "gladness,  both  with  thanks- 
giving, and  M'ith  singing,  -with  cymbals,  psalteries,  and 
with  harps."     Among  the  sounds  of  joy  were  blended 


18  Children^  hosannas. 


^- 


the  sweet  echoes  of  children's  praise,  for,  while  the  "  sing- 
ers sang  loud  with  Jezrahiah,  the  overseer,  the  wives 
also  and  the  children  rejoiced,  so  that  the  joy  of  Jerusa- 
lem was  heard  even  afar  oif." 

Neither  were  the  children  silent,  when,  in  after  years 
the  same  streets  became  vocal  with  the  Pentecostal 
revival.  Peter  made  it  prominent  that  the  promise  was 
to  the  children  as  well  as  to  those  aiar  oif.  This  was 
but  right,  for  did  they  not  shout  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son 
of  David"  in  the  temple,  and  when  some  were  sore  dis- 
pleased, the  Saviour  replied,  "Have ye  never  read,  'Out 
of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  perfected 
praise  ? ' " 

During  the  revival  of  modern  hymnology,  Dr.  Watts 
was  led  by  heavenly  wisdom  to  provide  hymns  and  songs 
for  children.  And  no  sentence,  carved  in  the -granite 
monument,  lately  erected  to  his  memory,  has  greater 
significance  than  that 

"  He  gave  to  lisping  infancy  its  earliest  and  purest  lessons." 

As  showing  some  of  the  happy  results  of  his  hymns 
for  children  we  give  the  following  from  the  address  of  a 
pastor,  furnished  by  the  Rev.  S.  W.  Christophers: — 

"A  good  man  in  declining  life  told  me  that  the  first 
book  in  which,  as  a  child,  he  took  an  interest,  was  a 
small  edition  of  Watts'  'Hymns  and  Divine  Songs' for 
children.  Each  hymn  was  headed  by  a  woodcut,  and 
one  especially  was  his  favorite.  It  represented  a  little 
boy,  something  like  himself,  as  he  thought,  leaning  at 
an  open  window,  looking  at  a  calm  happy  face  on  the 
setting  sun,  which  was  throwing  his  parting  light  upon 
a  quiet  country  scene.  Many  of  the  hymns,  and  that 
one  in  particular,  had  been  read  often,  until  they  lived 
in  his  soul.  But  as  he  grew  up,  the  impressions  were 
worn  oif  by   more  exciting   and  less  pure    thoughts  and 


c 


w 


c 


Watts'  hymns  for  children.  19 


pursuits.  He  fell  iuto  a  course  of  dissipation  and  vice, 
and  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  given  up  to  sin,  and  devoted 
to  ruin.  Worn  down  at  last  and  threatened  with  con- 
sumption, he  "was  ordered  into  the  country  for  change  of 
air;  and  after  some  time  spent  in  quietness  and  retire- 
ment, far  away  from  the  scenes  of  old  temptations,  he 
wandered  out  one  evening  about  sunset,  and  hanging 
pensively  over  a  gate,  he  watched  the  sun  as  it  sunk  be- 
hind the  copse,  and  was  throwing  its  last  beams  upon 
the  silent  and  peaceful  hill-side.  There  was  a  hush  upon 
liis  spirits,  and  suddenly,  as  if  sketched  by  an  unseen 
hand  before  his  inward  eye,  the  little  picture  which  used 
to  interest  his  boyish  mind  lived  again,  and  the  hymn 
which  it  illustrated  seemed  to  be  spoken  sweetly  to  his 
heart : — 

"And  now  another  day  is  prone, 
I'll  sing  my  Maker  s  praise."    Etc. 

The  tear  started.  He  had  seen  many  of  his  days  go,  but 
as  yet  his  Maker  had  never  heard  an  even-song  from  his 
lips  or  from  his  heart.  What  an  ungrateful  life  his  had 
been!  The 'remembrance  was  grevious,'  But  his  heart 
was  broken,  and  there  and  then  the  softened  man  made 
his  vows  of  return  to  God,  and  offered  the  prayer  which 
was  answered  in  blessings  which  filled  both  the  mornings 
and  evenings  of  his  mature  life  with  hymns  and  songs 
of  thanksgiving  and  praise." 

No  instrumentality  has  been  so  efficient  in  calling 
forth  and  stimulating  the  hosannas  of  children  as  Sunday 
schools.  The  start  and  perpetuity  of  this  institution  as 
a  system  is  generally  accredited  to  Robert  Raikes,  of 
Gloucester,  England.  Says  he:  "The  beginning  of  this 
scheme  was  entirely  owing  to  accident.  Some  business 
leading  me  one  morning  into  the  suburbs  of  the  city, 
where  the  lowest  of  the  people  reside,  I  was  struck  with 


20  Origin  of  Sunday  Schools. 


concern   at  seeing  a  group   of  children,    wretched    and 
ragged,  at  play  in  the  street. 

"Speaking  to  a  woman, said  she:  'Ah!  sir, could  you 
take  a  view  of  this  part  of  the  town  on  a  Sunday,  you 
would  be  shocked  indeed,  for  then  the  stree't  is  filled 
with  multitudes  of  these  wretches,  who,  released  tliat 
day  from  employment,  spend  their  time  in  noise  and 
riot,  playing  at  chuck,  and  cursing  and  swearing,  as  to 
convey  to  any  serious  mind  an  idea  of  hell  rather  than 
of  any  other  place." 

This  led  to  the  employment  of  four  Sunday  school 
teachers,  whom  he  engaged  to  pay  each  a  shilling 
(twenty-four  cents)  for  their  day's  work. 

Mr.  Raikes  once  remarked,  "When  I  was  re- 
volving the  subject  of  Sunday  schools  in  my  thoughts, 
the  word  try  was  so  powerfully  impressed  upon  my 
mind  that  it  impelled  me  to  action."  He  then  added, 
"  I  can  never  pass  by  the  spot  where  the  word  try  came 
so  powerfully  into  my  mind,  without  lifting  up  my  heart 
and  hands  to  Heaven,  in  gratitude  to  God,  for  having 
put  such  a  thought  into  my  heart."  At  another  time 
he  writes:  "My  eldest  boy  was  born  the  very  day  that 
I  made  public  to  the  M^orld  the  scheme  of  Sunday 
schools,  in  my  paper  of  Nov.  3,  1783.  In  four  years' 
time  it  has  extended  so  rapidly,  as  now  to  include  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  children.  It  is  increasing 
more  and  more;  it  reminds  me  of  the  grain  of  mustard 
seed." 

How  Mr.  Raikes  would  now  be  enraptured  could  he 
but  listen  to  the  entire  world  echoing  with  Sunday  school 
songs,  and  behold  the  millions  simultaneously  engaged 
in  the  study  of  the  same  lessons. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Belcher  states  the  singular  fact  that 
"Mr.  Raikes's  first  thorough  conviction  of  sin,  and  his 
first  approach  to  the  cross  of  Christ  for  mercy,    was  the 


Opposition  to  Sunday  Schools,  23 


result  of  reading  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah  to  a 
little  girl,  one  of  his  own  Sunday  school  scholars.  So 
marvelously  does  the  blessed  God  work  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  greatest  designs." 

While  seeking  that  which  was  lost,  our  Saviour  was 
wont  at  times  to  take  new  and  untrodden  paths,  when,  it 
is  said,  his  followers  "murmured."  The  introduction 
of  Sunday  schools  was  saluted  with  similar  murmurs. 

At  a  conference  of  ministers  held  in  London  the  op- 
ponents argued  that  it  was  a  desecration  of  the  Lord's 
diiy.  One  wrote  in  1794,  that  "no  single  instance  of 
moral  improvement  has  occurred  to  distinguish  any  of  the 
Sunday  school  children  from  others ;  "  and  then  closes 
by  asking,  "How  can  the  Divine  Being  give  a  blessing 
to  an  institution  which  appears  contrary  to  his  revealed 
will?" 

Even  in  our  own  day  the  novelty  of  the  Sabbath  school 
has  awakened  singular  opposition. 

About  the  year  1854,  a  young  evangelical  minister 
proposed  to  introduce  a  Sunday  school  in  a  section  of 
Pennsylvania,  not  fifty  miles  from  Philadelphia,  when, 
some  of  his  members  regarding  it  as  an  innovation  u[)on 
the  good  old  customs  of  their  fathers,  not  only  bitterly 
opposed  it,  but  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  their  pastor 
with  personal  violence  while  he  was  addressing  the  child- 
ren from  the  church  altar.  At  length  they  drove  the 
children  from  the  church  and  scattered  the  books  upon 
the  road.  A  law-suit  ensued,  in  which  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  school  took  the  ground  that  the  charter  stated 
that  there  should  be  nothing  in  the  church  hni  preaching. 
For  this  leason  the  jury  decided  in  their  favor.  After 
gaining  the  suit  they  dragged  a  cannon  a  distance  of  ten 
miles,  and  placing  it  aside  of  the  church,  fired  it  off  a 
whole  half  day,  as  a  jubilee  of  their  victory  in  having 
tumbled  the  Sunday  school  out  of  church. 


M 


24  Sunday  School  Jubilee. 


Ill  1829,  James  Montgomery,  the  Christian  poet, 
wrote:  "It  has  occurred  to  me  that  a  Sunday  school  Ju- 
bilee in  the  year  1831,  fifty  years  from  the  origin  of  Sun- 
day schools  might  be  the  means  of  extraordinary  and 
happy  excitement  to  the  public  mind  in  favor  of  these 
institutions." 

This  proposal  met  with  general  approval,  and  the 
Jubilee  was  arranged  for  September  14th,  1831,  the  an- 
niversary of  Raikes's  birth.  This  proved  to  be  one  of 
the  most  interesting  epochs  connected  with  the  history 
of  Sunday  schools. 

We  give  herewith  one  of  the  hymns  written  for  this 
occasion  by  Mr.  Montgomery.  It  was  not  only  sung 
by  the  tens  of  thousands  on  the  day  of  Jubilee,  but  has 
mingled  with  the  glad  hosannas  of  children  ever  since. 

"  Hosanna  be  the  children's  song, 
To  Christ  the  children's  king 
His  praise  to  whom  our  souls  belong, 
Let  all  the  children  sing. 
"  From  little  ones  to  Jesus  brought 
Hosanna  now  be  heard; 
Let  infants  at  the  breast  be  taught, 
To  lisp  that  lovely  word. 
"Hosanna  here,  in  joyful  bauds, 
Maidens  and  youths  proclai:n, 
And  hail  with  voices,  hearts,  and  hands 
The  Son  of  David's  name. 
"  Hosanna  sound  from  hill  to  hill. 
And  spread  from  plain  to  plain, 
"While  louder,  sweeter,  clearer  still, 
Woods  echo  to  the  strain. 
"  Hosanna,  on  the  wings  of  light, 
O'er  earth  and  ocean  fly, 
Till  morn  to  eve,  and  noon  to  night, 
And  heaven  to  earth  reply. 
"The  city  to  the  country  call, 
Let  realm  with  realm  accord ; 
And  this  their  watchword,  one  and  all^ 
Hosanna,  praise  the  Lord. 


Sunday  School  Jubilee. 


'Zj 


"Hosanna,  then,  our  song  shall  be — 
Hosanna  to  our  King  ; 
This  is  the  children's  Jubilee 
Let  all  the  children  sing.'" 


JUBILEE  GATHEUING  AT  EXETBK  HALL. 

The  grand  Jubilee  meeting  was  held  in  Exeter  Hall, 
London.  This  vast  building,  so  widely  known  on  ac- 
count of  the  many  religious  anniversaries  held  within  its 
walls,  was  never  more  crowded,  or  the  scene  of  greater 
enth  i^iasn  than  on   this  memorable  occasion. 

The  Right  Honorable  Lord  Henley,  who  officiated  as 
chairman,  said:  "  Tiiis  meeting  exceeds,  in  point  of  num- 
bers, any  that  I  have  ever  seen, — exceeds,  as  I  am  sure 
it  does,  in  knowledge  and  intelligence  and  in  Christian 
spirit,  every  meeting  Avhich.I  have  ever  beheld  before 
collected  within  the  walls  of  an  assembly." 


r 


26  William  B.  Bradbury. 


William  B.  Bradbury. 

§HE  extensive  interest  and  warm  enthusiasm  now 
manifested  in  Sunday  schools  is  largely  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  prominent  place  given  to  song — lively 
song,  adapted  to  the  quick  motion  and  sprightly  ex- 
pression so  natural  to  the  young.  Children  live  and  move 
in  a  world  of  thought,  pecidiarly  their  own.  "  When  I 
was  a  child,"  says  the  Apostle,  "I  spake  as  a  child,  I 
understood  as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child."  Hymns 
suited  to  the  "thought"  of  children  were  provided  by 
Watts,  Charles  Wesley,  Hill,  Montgomery  and  others, 
but  they  had  no  nuisical  tongue  given  them,  so  as  to 
speak  with  the  voice  of  childhood,  till  the  days  of  Wil- 
liam B.  Bradbury.  The  memory  of  his  name  will  be 
endeared  td  millions  of  the  present  generation  as  the 
pioneer  in  Sunday  school  song. 

Pie  was  born  in  York,  York  county,  Maine,  October 
6,  1816.  Although  from  early  life  he  was  specially  fond 
of  music,  yet  until  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  unable  to 
devote  much  time  to  its  study.  After  many  struggles, 
owing  to  his  straitened  circumstances,  he  was  enabled  at 
length,  through  the  assistance  of  some  kind  friends,  to 
attend  the  Academy  of  Music  at  Boston,  in  charge  of 
Dr.  Lowell  Mason  and  his  coadjutor,  George  J.  Webb, 
who  at  that  time  stood  at  the  head  of  the  musical  celeb- 
rities of  iSTew  England. 

"About  this  time,"  says  Mr.  T.  F.  Seward,  "an  in- 
cident occurred  which  was  a  source  of  great  mortification 
to  the  young  enthusiast.  His  parents,  both  of  them  old 
fashioned  singers,  were,  of  course,  greatly  interested  in  his 
progress.  He  went  home  from  the  school  one  night,  full 
of  ardor  and  excitement,  and  undertook  to  give  them 
an  example  of  the  new  method  of  singing  and  beating 
time.     His  gestures   were  so  extravagant,   swinging  his 

r~  5)) 


WILLIAM  B.  BRADBURY. 


Early  disappointments.  29 


C 


arm  nearly  its  whole  length,  that  his  parents  were  far 
more  amused  than  edified.  However,  they  restrained 
thei-r  mirth,  not  Avishing  to  check  their  son's  enthusiasm, 
but  at  last  the  scene  became  too  much  for  them,  and  they 
burst  into  a  peal  of  unresistible  laughter.  This  was  too 
much  for  the  eager  performer.  His  rapture  was  turned 
into  fiery  indignation,  and  slamming  his  book  shut  in  a 
rage,  he  declared  that  they  knew  nothing  at  all  about 
music,   and   marched  out  of  the  room. 

Another  mental  shower-bath  occurred  in  connection 
with  his  first  appointment  for  a  singing-school.  After 
the  issue  of  many  circulars  and  stirring  advertisements, 
he  anticipated  a  great  crowd,  when,  at  the  appointed  time, 
not  a  single  soul  was  there  to  greet  his  arrival.  After 
a  while  a  young  man  made  his  appearance,  and  still  later 
five  others  came  to  witness  the  mortification  of  the  am- 
bitious young  teacher,  who  sat  on  the  platform  in  a 
clammy  perspiration,  "  inwardly  longing  for  some  blessed 
knot-hole  through  which  he  might  disappear."  This 
magnificent  fizzle  is  spoken  of  as  of  great  value  to  him 
in  bringing  him  down  from  the  clouds  and  of  more  real 
service  than  a  grand  success  would  have  been.  Through 
the  influence  of  Dr.  Mason,  his  former  teacher,  he  secured 
a  position  as  teacher  of  singing-schools  at  Machias,  in 
Maine,  and  afterwards  in  St.  Johns,  New  Brunswick. 

At  length  a  position  was  given  him  as  music  teacher, 
in  the  1st  Baptist  Church  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  later 
in  the  Baptist  Tabernacle  in  New  York  City. 

In  1841,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  children,  and 
first  held  his  free  singing  classes  which  became  so  very 
popular.  It  was  a  thrilling  scene  at  his  annual  "Juven- 
ile Musical  Festivals,"  to  behold  a  thousand  children  on 
a  gradually  rising  platform, — the  girls  clad  in  white  with 
a  white  wreath  and  blue  sash,  and  the  boys  in  jackets, 
with  collars  turned  over  in  Bvron  stvle. 


30 


B.radhury's  Publications. 


These  efforts  among  the  young  gave  hiin  great  celeb- 
rity, a  host  of  warm  friends,  and  led  him  eventually  into 
his  life  work  ofjjroviding  Sunday  school  song  for  the 
countless  millions.  And  if,  as  it  is  said,  he  who  makes 
the  ballads  of  a  nation  has  mightier  power  than  he  who 
jnakes  its  laws,  how  far  reaching  must  be  the  sweep  of 
his  undying  influence.  Some  estimate  may  be  formed 
from  the  fact  that  over  tlu'ee  million  copies  of  his 
"  Golden  Trio •:'—''  Golden  Chain,"  "  Golden  Shower,'' 
and  "  Golden  Censer,''  have  been  issued,  and  yet  these 
form  but  a  small  part  of  the  number  of  his  publications  as 
will  appear  from  the  subjoined  list: 

1841     Young  Choir*  11856     Sabbath  School  Choir. 

1843     School  Sinj^er,  or  Young     1856     Cantata  of  Esther. 
Choir's  Companion.*       1856     Musical  Bouquet.^ 


1844  Psalmodist.f 

1844  Social  Singing  Book. 

1845  Young  Melodist. 
184T  Flora's  Festival. 

1847  -New  York    Choralist.J 

1849  Musical  Gems. 

1849  Mendelssohn  Collection.! 

1850  Alpine  Glee  Singer. 

1850  S.  S.  Melodies. 

1851  Psalmista.f 

1852  The  Seasons. 
1852  Singing  Bird. 

1852  Metropolitan  Glee  Book. 

1853  Shawm.  J 

1854  Book  for  Boys'  aud  Girls' 

Meetings. 

1855  Young  Shawm. 

1855  New  York  Glee  and  Cho- 
rus Book. 


1857  Jubilee. 

1859  Cottage  Melodies.** 

1859  Oriola. 

18G0  Eclectic  Tune  Book. 

1860  Bradburv's  Anthem  Book 

1861  The  Golden  Chain. 

1861  The  Carol. 

1862  The  Golden  Shower. 

1863  Key  Note. 

1863  Pilgrims'  Songs.** 

1864  Devotional  Hymn  and 

Tune  Book.** 

1865  Plymouth   Collection.** 
IfiGG  Golden  Hvmns.** 

1867  Clariona.** 

I86T  Songs  of  Praise.** 

1861  The  Golden  Censer.** 

1867  Fresh  Laurels.** 

1867  TheTempleClioir.il 


Thus  it  will  a])pear  that  in  twenty-six  years  he  was 
instrumental,    with  the  assistance  of  others,  in  bringing 

»  In  connection  w  th  Mr.  C.  W.  Sanders. 

t  In  connection  with  Dr.  Thomas  Hsstinas. 

%  In  connection  with  Dr.  Hastines.  Mr.  G.  F,  Root  and  Mr'  T,  B,  Mason, 

§  In  connection  with  Mr.  C.  <'.  Converse, 

**  lu  connection  with  Mr    Svlvcstcr  Main. 

g  In  connection  with  Dr.  I.o'weU  Mason  and  Mr,  Theodore  F,  Seward, 


c= 


1/ 


Revolution  in  Music. 


out  no  less  than  forty  different  publications.  It  was  re- 
gretted by  many  that  some  of  his  earlier  works  did 
not  contain  a  higher  standard  of  poetry.  But  then  it 
must  be  remembered  that  this  was  a  transition  period  in 
the  musical  history  of  our  country.  "The  mind  of  the 
public,"  says  Mr.  Seward,  "had  just  undergone  a  com- 
plete reaction.  From  the  almost  exclusive  use  of  plain 
church  tunes  in  the  exercise  of  the  Sunday  school,  there 
begun  to  be  a  general  adoption  of  street  melodies  of  every 
description,  from  '  Co-co-che-lunk '  to  '  We  wont  go  home 
till  morning;'  and  theie  is  no  doubt  but  that  Mr.  Brad- 
bury's music  was  the  barrier  by  which  the  fearful  tide  was 
stopped.  He  expressly  states  that  the  'Golden  Chain' 
was  compiled  with  that  special  object  in  view." 

In  1847,  Mr.  Bradbury  Av^nt  to  Europe  to  perfect  his 
knowledge  of  music  under  the  tuition  of  ihe  best  German 
masters.  While  crossing  the  Alps,  he  relates  this  in- 
cident :  Having  met  a  German,  who  Avas  so  enraj)tured, 
as  he  beheld  the  Alpine  peaks  bathed  with  the  golden 
glories  of  the  rising  sun,  that  he  sang  aloud  for  joy.  "  Kot 
wishing,"  says  Mr.  Bradbury,  "to  be  outdone  by  a  'for- 
eigner,' especially  in  my  own  profession,  1  conmienced 
singing."  This  captivated  the  'foieigner'  so  that  he 
would  not  rest  till  he  was  taught  the  same  ])ieces.  "  This, " 
Mr.  Bradbury  quaintly  adds,  "  was  the  only  music-lesson 
I  gave  on  the  top  of  the  Alps." 

When  about  fifteen  years  of  age  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Charles  St.  Baptist  Church,  Boston,  Mass.,  under 
the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sharp.  While  settled  in 
New  York  he  united  with  the  Baptist  Tabernacle.  For 
many  years,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  he  stood  in  con- 
nection with  the  Presbyterian  Chnrch  of  Bloom  field, 
N.  J.  His  widow,  in  furnishing  the  writer  with  these  facts, 
adds:  "He  was  not  strictly  sectarian  in  his  views  often 
saying  he  belonged  to  the 'children's  church,'   meanincr 


32  Bradbury's  death. 


that  wherever  he  could  meet  with   the  children  and  do 
them  good  he  felt  at  home." 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  one  of  his  many  acts  of 
generosity :  A  theological  student  once  wrote  to  Mr.  Brad- 
bury for  a  loan  of  five  dollars,  that  he  might  buy  himself  a 
pair  of  boots.  By  return  of  mail  he  received  Mr.  Brad- 
bury's check  for  twenty-five  dollars,  and  a  note  saying  that 
he  did  not  feel  able  to  spare  him  the  five  dollars,  but  that 
he  might  manage  to  get  along  with  the  twenty-five  for 
tlie  present,  and  until  he  could  accommodate  him  with 
the  five  dollars. 

The  strain  of  music  that  he  composed  to  "  Sweet  hour  of 
prayer,"  was  but  the  sweet  echo  of  his  own  experience. 

In  the  rear  of  his  ware-rooms  in  New  York,  was  a 
small  office,  where  he  was, wont  to  "renew  his  strength" 
and  "mount  up  with  Avings  as  eagles."  Whenever,  with 
the  cai*s,  he  had  to  leave  his  home  without  having  had 
sufficient  time  for  his  closet  duties,  it  is  said,  he  never 
failed  to  repair  at  once  to  this  little  private  sanctuary 
and  spend  some  time  in  his  devotions.  Nor  would  he 
permit  any  pressure  of  business  to  break  in  upon  this 
habit.  His  much-loved  Bible  occupied  a  prominent  place 
on  the  table,  and  was  well  worn  and  filled  with  marked 
])assages  that  had  become  luminous  in  his  own  experience. 
In  his  private  journal  he  wrote,  "The  37th  Psalm  has 
been  to  me  a  never-failing  source  of  comfort  and  conso- 
lation. My  little  Bible  frequently  opens  to  it  of  its  own 
accord.  The  27th  is  also  a  favorite  when  the  enemy 
comes  in  like  a  flood." 

Mr.  Bradbury  ended  his  fifty-two  years  of  a  busy  life 
on  the  7th  of  January,  1868.  For  two  years  previous 
he  suffered  from  the  lingering  torments  of  consumption. 
A  few  weeks  before  his  death  he  said  to  Mr.  Seward,  in 
accents  of  touciiing  pathos,  "  I  long  to  be  free  from  this 
evil  l)ody,    which   does  so   much  to  drag   me  down.     I 


m 


The  children's  offering.  33 


feel  that  I  want  to  do  right,  that  I  want  to  love  my 
Saviour,  aud  act  to  please  Him,  but  this  busy  brain  and 
hasty  nature  lead  me  oftentimes  to  things  that  are  con- 
trary to  the  real  feelings  of  my  heart." 

He  need  no  longer  express  such  desires  or  sing  to  his 
much  loved  song,  "Sweet  hour  of  prayer,"  the  words: — 

"This  robe  of  flesh  I'll  drop,  and  rise 
To  seize  the  everlasting  prize." 

His  longing  desires  have  ended  in  joyful  fruitions. 

Some  of  the  sweet  melodies  that  Mr.  Bradbury  set 
afloat  in  his  life  accompanied  him  in  his  descent  to  the 
dark  valley,  and  folllowed  him  in  his  ascent  to  the  skies. 

The  night  he  jmssed  away  some  of  the  brethren,  who 
had  convened  for  a  prayer-meeting,  sang  with  much 
feeling  the  appropriate  lines  from  the  "  Golden  Censer:" — 

"  We  are  going,  we  are  going, 
To  a  home  beyond  the  skies, 
"\Vh?re  the  fields  are  robed  in  beautj-, 
,And  the  sunlight  never  dies." 

These  words  were  sung  again  by  the  dear  children  as 
they  stood  around  his  cold  remains  at  the  funeral. 

A  week  before  his  death  the  children  of  JNlontclair 
paid  him  a  visit  and  each  brought  him  an  oak  leaf,  which 
Avas  woven  into  a  beautiful  wreath.  At  his  funeral  it 
was  laid  on  his  coffin  and  buried  with  him  in  his  grave. 

Well   has  a  friend    said,    "His  triumphs    began    and 

ended  with  the  children  of  whom  he  was  passionately 

fond."     Among  Mr.  Bradbury's  earliest  and  best  pieces 

was  the  one  so  often  sung  on  funeral  occasions,  aud  so  well 

fitted  to  give  expression  to  the  words : — 

"  Asleep  in  Jesus  :  blessed  sleep, 
From  which  none  ever  wakes  to  weep, 
A  calm  and  undisturbed  repose, 
Unbroken  by  the  last  of  foes." 

This  was  sung  while   the  cold  body  of  his  mother  lay 


=|i 


Tribute  to  Bradbury. 


"asleep  in  Jesus,"  and  now  also,  as  by  his  own  request, 

his  clay  was   beinj^   buried  by   her  side.     The  Saturday 

before  his  death   he   remarked   to  a   friend,   "My  soul 

seems  to  have  gained  the  victory.     I  am  so  happy  now. 

I  rest  wholly  upon  Christ.     May  God  give  me  grace  to 

die.     I  am  going   to  see  mother."     Kow,  while  he  and 

his  sainted  mother  were  blending  their  voices  with  the 

ransomed  host  above,  the  funeral  attendants  below  were 

singing  with  plaintive  voices  and  tear-bathed  cheeks: — ■ 

"  Asleep  in  Jesus  ;  0  how  sweet 

To  be  for  such  a  slumber  meet; 
With  holy  confidence  to  sing, 

That  death  has  lost  its  venorned  sting. 

After  the  singing  of  these  words,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hastings 
of  New  York,  son  of  the  eminent  composer,  Dr.  Thomas 
Hastings,  paid  a  beautiful  tribute  to  Mr.  Bradbury's 
memory,  and  said  that  he  well  remembered  the  first 
manuscript  of  the  hymn  just  sung,  as  he  saw  it  in  his 
father's  household,  while  %h:  Bradbury  was  associated 
with  his  father  in  musical  composition.  The  music  was 
inspired  by  the  hymn.  They  were  married  together,  so 
that  they  could  never  be  divorced  in  the  Christian's 
heart  and  memory  during  coming  generations.  Mr. 
Bradbury  shall  cause  hearts  to  live  and  sing  when  stai's 
and  worlds  are  no  more.  No  friend  can  desire  a  nobler 
monument  than  is  raised  for  him  in  Sabbath  schools, 
homes  and  church,  where  the  gospel  is  preached  and 
sung," 

After  these  remarks  the  children  sang  another  of  Mr. 
Bradbury's  pieces  from  the  "Fresh  Laurels:" — 

"  Above  the  waves  of  earthly  strife, 
Above  the  ills  and  cares  of  life 
Where  all  is  peaceful,  bright  and  fair, 
My  home  is  there,    my  home  is  there." 

Before  the  last  look  upon  the  pale  face  was  taken,  the 
choir  sung  a  voluntary  of  Mr.  Bradbury's  composition : — 


Bradbury  continued.  35 


"  Let  me  go  where  saints  are  going, 
To  tlie  mansions  of  the  biest," 

after  which  the  remains  were  removed  to  the  hillside 
in  the  Bloomfield  Cemetery,  beside  his  much-loved 
mother,  there  to  rest  till  "  time  shall  be  no  longer." 

While  passing  under  the  rod  of  affliction  in  his  last 
days,  he  prepared  some  of  his  best  pieces  that  were  "  like 
crushed  flowers,  fragrant  with  the  odors  of  heaven," 

The  "  Fresh  Laurels,"  his  last  Sunday  school  book, 
he  prepared,  while,  as  he  expressed  it,  he  was  gathering 
about  him  his  robes  for  his  upward  flight. 

How  appropiiate  the  words  of  one  of  his  last  songs : — 

"  I  am  waiting  by  the  ri\er, 

And  my  heart  has  waited  long ; 
Now  I  thiuii  I  hear  the  chorus 

Of  the  angels'  welcome  song; 
Oh,  I  see  the  dawn  is  breaking 
On  the  hill-tops  of  the  blest, 
"  Where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling, 
And  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

In  the  preface  to  the  "Fresh  Laurels,"  he  says: 
"Though  the  voice  of  the  author  of  these  songs  of  praise 
is  silent,  he  has  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  multi- 
tudes of  othef  and  sweeter  voices  will  take  them  up  and 
echo  them  throughout  the  land."  As  one  million  and 
three  hundred  tliousand  copies  of  this  book  have  been 
sold,  surely  this  wish  has  been  fully  realized. 

Five  days  before  his  departure  he  was  in  an  ecstacy  of 
delight,  which  continued  till  consciousness  was  gone. 
Again  and  again  he  wished  to  have  repeated  the  beauti- 
ful descriptions  of  heaven,  given  in  the  last  two  chapters 
of  Revelation,  when  he  would  exclaim:  "What  have  I 
done  that  I  shoidd  have  such  delightful  assurance  and 
comfort."  As  he  was  going  up  to  be  robed  in  white,  he 
did  not  wish  his  friends  to  attire  themselves  in  black  for 
him,  or  to  mourn  his  departure. 


36 


3£iss  Sidney  P.  G'dVs  hymn. 


c; 


Origin  of  "  I  want  to  be  an  angel. " 


^T  is  a  singular  coincidence  that  the  similar  utterances 
^  of  two  children  should  occasion  two  hymns  about  the 
same  time  on  the  same  subject. 

Dr.  Prime  "wrote  for  the  New  Yorh  Observer,  of  which 
he  is  senior  editor,  the  incident  given  below,  April  5. 
1845.     This  was  turned  into  verse  by  Park  Benjamin. 

A  child  sat  in  the  door  of  a  cottage  at  the  close  of  a 
summer  Sabbath.  The  twilight  was  fading,  and  as  the 
shades  of  evening  darkened,  one  after  another  of  the  stars 
stood  in  the  sky,  and  looked  down  on  the  child  in  his 
thoughtful  mood.  He  was  looking  up  at  the  stars  and 
counting  them  as  they  came,  till  they  were  too  many 
to  be  counted,  and  his  eyes  wandered  all  over  the  heav- 
ens, watching  the  bright  worlds  above.  They  seemed 
just  like  "holes  In  the  floor  of  heaven  to  let  the  glory 
through,"  but  he  knew  better.  Yet  he  loved  to  look  up 
there,  and  was  so  absorbed,  that  his  mother  called  to  him : 

*'My  son,  what  are  you  thinking  of?" 

He   started  as  if  aroused  from  sleej),  and  answered : 

"  I  was  thinking " 

"Yes,"  said  his  mother,  "I  know  you  w«re  thinking, 
but  what  were  you  thinking  about?  " 

"Oh,"  said  he,  and  his  little  eyes  sparkled  with  the 
thought,  "I  want  to  be  an  angel." 

"And  M'hy,  my  son,  would  you  be  an  angel?" 

"Heaven  is  up  there,  is  it  not,  mother?  and  there  the 
angels  live  and  love  God,  and  are  happy;  I  do  wish  I 
Avas  good,  and  God  would  take  me  there,  and  kt  me 
wait  on  him  forever." 

The  mother  called  him  to  her  knee,  and  he  leaned  on 
her  bosom  and  wept.  She  "wept  too,  and  smoothed  the 
soft  hair  of  his  head  as  he  stood  there,  and  kissed  his 
forehead,  and  then  told  him  that  if  he  would  give  his 


Miss  GiWs  hymn,  concluded.  37 


heart  to  God,  now  while  he  was  young,  that  the  Saviour 
Avoukl  forgive  all  his  sins  and  take  him  up  to  heaven 
when  he  died,  and  he  would  then  be  with  God  forever. 
His  young  heart  was  comforted.  He  knelt  at  his 
mother's  side  and  said : — 

"Jesus,  Saviour,  Son  of  God, 

Wash  me  in  ihj  precious  blood; 
I  thy  little  Iamb  would  be, 

Help  me.  Lord,   to  look  to  thee.  " 

The  mother  took  the  young  child  to  his  chamber  and 

soon  he  was  asleep,   dreaming  perhaps   of  angels  and 

heaven.     A  few  months  afterwards  sickness  was  on  him, 

and  the  light  of  that  cottage,  the  joy  of  that  mother's 

heart,  went  out.     He  breathed  his  last  in  her  arms,  and 

as  he  took  her  parting  kiss,  he  whispered  in  her  ear : — 

"  I  want  to  be  an  angel.  " 

Just  two  weeks  after  the  publication  of  the  above.  Miss 
Sidney  P.  Gill  wrote  the  hymn  which,  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  has  been  so  popular  in  Europe  and  America. 
It  took  its  rise  in  the  infant  school  of  the  Clinton  Street 
Presbyterian  Sabbath-School  of  Philadelphia,  which  was 
taught  by  Miss   Gill. 

On  the  Sabbath,  previous  to  its  composition,  she  was 
speaking  to  her  little  infants  about  heaven  picturing  its 
beauties  and  glories,  the  blessedness  of  being  there  with 
"a  crown  upon  the  forehead,  a  harp  within  the  hand," 
when  a  little  dark-eyed  girl,  about  five  years  of  age, 
became  so  enraptured  that  she  unconsciously  clasped  her 
hands  together,  and  looking  wistfully  into  her  teacher's 
face,  exclaimed  aloud,  "O,  I  want  to  be  an  angel." 

That  week  this  little  scholar,   Annie  Louisa  Farrand, 
took  sick  and  died.     Miss  Gill  at  once  wrote  the  hymn, 
on  the  next  Sunday  taught  it  to  her  scholars,  and  millions 
of  infant  voices  have  since  been  singing, — 
"  I  want  to  be  an  angel." 


38  Lydia  Baxter. 


Mrs.  Lydia  Baxter. 

fSSOCIATED  with  some  of  our  most  popular  Sunday 
school  hymns  is  the  name  of  Mrs.    Lydia  Baxter. 
The  many,    who   for  years    have  been   singing  her 
words : — 

"  Take  the  name  of  Jesus  with  you, 
Child  of  sorrow  aud  of  woe," 

*'  There  is  a  gate  that  stands  ajar, 

And  through  its  portals  gleaming," 

will  be  pleased  to  read  the  following  sketch  of  her  life, 
})repared  for  this  volume  by  her  former  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Armitage,  D.  D. 

This  saintly  woman  was  born  in  the  town  of  Peters- 
burgh,  Rensselaer  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  2nd,  1809.  She  be- 
came a  disciple  of  Christ  while  very  young,  under  the 
labors  of  the  Rev.  Eber  Tucker,  a  Baptist  home  mission- 
ary, and  soon  evinced  her  healthful  influence  in  her 
native  town,  by  the  fact  that  her  conversion,  in  connection 
with  that  of  her  younger  sister,  led  to  the  organization 
of  a  Baptist  Church  in  that  j)lace.  There  she  was  edu- 
cated, and  became  a  successful  Sabbath  school  teacher. 

After  iier  marriage  to  Col.  John  C.  Baxter,  the  rest 
of  her  life  was  spent  in  the  city  of  N^ew  York,  where  she 
died,  June  22,  1874.  Principally  through  her  holy 
influence  her  husband  was  brought  to  Clirist,  not  many 
years  after  their  marriage,  and  for  more  than  a  gen- 
eration, she  was  known  in  her  home,  and  in  all  the  Christ- 
ian circles  of  the  city,  as  a  refined,  tender  and  hallowed 
lady.  In  person,  she  was  slightly  built,  but  compact 
and  comely,  and  her  manners  were  very  sprightly  [and 
winning,  so  that  her  society  was  much  appreciated  by  all 
classes.  For  nearly  thirty  years  she  was  an  invalid, 
much  of  the  time  a  prisoner  at  home,  and  often  the  vic- 
tim of  excruciating  pain.     Yet,  in  the  midst  of  so  much 


c 


Lydia  Baxter  continued.  41 


to  render  her  life  pensive,  and  even  sombre,  seldom  did 
a  shade  of  sadness  pass  over  her  heart  or  house.  On  the 
contrary,  her  quaint  humor,  a  sharp  eye  for  the  ludicrous, 
with  the  quiet  power  of  story  and  repartee,  were  constant 
sources  of  light-heartedness  to  all  around  her.  Hence, 
pastors,  missionaries,  Sunday  school  laborers,  and  per- 
sons of  literary  tastes,  loved  to  spend  a  cheerful  hour  in 
her  company.  She  was  a  close  student  of  nature  and 
the  Bible.  A  clear,  ringing,  gosjiel  truth  ever  found 
a  joyful  welcome  to  her  heart,  and  the  simple,  the  beau- 
tiful, the  sublime  in  nature,  ever  created  a  feast  to  her 
eye.  The  delicious  scenery  of  her  country  home  had 
educated  her  to  a  love  of  birds  and  flowers,  in  all  their 
refining  persuasiveness.  One  of  her  chief  joys  M'as  the 
culture  of  rare  and  delicate  plants,  and  she  acquired  the 
happy  art  of  so  arranging  the  petals  and  leaves  of  flowers, 
in  the  making  of  artificial  birds  and  other  oljjects,  as  to 
leave  the  impression  that  all  the  hues  of  light  and  shade 
in  their  delicate  blendings  were  real,  and  that  you  had 
the  fascinating  reality  before  your  eyes.  Her  rooms  were 
hung  with  such  specimens  of  her  own  handiwork,  and 
many  such  precious  mementoes  still  adorn  the  homes 
of  her  friends.  With  a  body  as  weak  as  a  bruised  reed, 
and  constantly  suffering,  her  soul  was  as  blithe,  her  heart 
as  young,  and  her  fingers  as  active,  as  if  she  spent  her 
days  in  the  flush  of  vigor  and  youth.  This  winsome 
buoyency  evinced  itself  in  the  fact  that  the  young  were 
constantly  attached  to  her,  and  in  return  for  their  love 
she  lavished  upon  them  her  wonderfully  pure,  sensitive, 
and  pathetic  poetic  inspirations. 

For  many  years  it  was  her  custom  to  present  the  Sun- 
day schools  of  New  York  with  one  or  more  anniversary 
hymns,  in  May,  which  were  generally  sung  in  the  various 
churches  with  great  zest.  Usually,  she  kept  her  room 
or  bed  while  they  were  making  our  metropolitan  sane- 


c 


42  Lydia  Baxter  continued. 


tnaries  ring  with  the  praises  which  she  had  framed  for 
their  lips.  But  once  the  wiiter  saw  her  on  such  an  oc- 
casion, steal  quietly  into  a  church,  pale  and  weary,  to 
hear  the  children  sing  one  of  her  own  hymns.  And  it 
was  touching  in  the  extreme  to  see  the  tears  follow  each 
other,  in  great  round  drops  down  her  cheek,  her  very 
heart  weeping  for  joy,  while  her  voice  was  unable  to 
join  them  in  a  single  note.  Her  productions  show  that 
she  was  endowed  with  a  high  degree  of  poetic  ability, 
and  she  sanctified  all  its  revelations,  at  the  Saviour's  feet 
to  the  salvation  of  the  young.  Hence,  there  are  few 
Sunday  schools  in  our  land  where  her  ennobling  verses 
are  not  sung  every  Lord's  day,  and  they  are  quite  as 
well  known  in  Great  Britain  as  in  America.  A  caged 
songster  herself,  she  sung  for  the  outside  world. 

A  volume  of  her  chaste  poems,  entitled  "Gems by  the 
Wayside,"  was  published  in  1855,  and  had  a  large  sale, 
while  recently,  many  of  her  productions  have  had  an 
immense  circulation  in  connection  with  the  labors  of 
Messrs  Moody  and  Sankey.  Some  of  those  which  are 
the  best  known  are  these : — 

"We  are  coming,  blessed  Saviour," 
"  On  the  banks  beyond  the  river," 
»'  The  angel  boatman," 
"  The  Precious  Name," 
"The  Gate  Ajar," 

"0!  shall  I  wear  a  starless  crown," 
"  By  the  gate  they'll  meet  us," 
"The  bright  hills  of  glory." 

When  Messrs  Moody  and  Sankey  were  in  Scotland, 
her  hymn  "Gate  Ajar,"  contributed  largely  to  the  power 
of  the  revival  scenes,  and  was  sung  to  the  comfort  of 
many  thousands,  both  in  the  highlands  and  in  the  low- 
lands.    Millions   of  hearts  have  been  touched   by    the 


Lydia  Baxter  continued.  43 


story  of  poor  Maggie  Lindsay  of  Aberdeen,  in  association 
with  this  hymn,  given  on  the  following  pages.  The 
knowledge  of  these  facts  gave  INIrs.  Baxter  great  conso- 
lation in  the  last  struggles  of  her  own  life,  and  probably 
moved  lier  to  write  her  last  hymn,  entitled,  "One  more 
song  for  Jesus:" — 

"  One  more  song  I'll  sing  for  Jesus, 
Once  again  his  love  rept-at ; 
Though  my  earthly  harp  is  liroken 
Love  still  makes  its  numbers  sweet. 

Cnoftus. 

"Oh  !   'tis  sweet  to  love  my  Master, 
Sweet  His  precious  love  to  tell; 
But  I  hear  the  angels  whisper 
I  must  bid  farewell,  farewell  I 

"  Oh  !  improve  life's  precious  moment 
To  secure  the  heavenly  prize  ; 
Jesus  made  a  full  atonement, — 
'Twas  a  costly  sacrifice. 

"  Standing  on  the  verge  of  Jordan 
1  can  hear  its  waters  roll  ; 
But  beyond,  the  light  is  golden, 
.\nd  it  beems  upon  my  soul. 

"Faith  beholds  a  sea  of  glory, 
And  the  pearly  gates  appear ; 
Gentle  breezes  float  around  me, 
Oh  !  the  portals  must  be  near." 

She  made  no  mention  of  this  sweet  hymn  until  the 
day  before  her  death,  when  she  presented  it  to  the  family, 
asking  that  it  might  be  read  before  them  all. 

Mrs.  Baxter  had  been  chastened  by  many  afflictions 
in  her  family  as  well  as  in  her  person,  not  the  least  of 
which  was  the  sudden  death  of  a  married  son,  whom  she 
dearly  loved,  and  who  was  worthy  of  her  in  his  devotion 
to  Christ,  and  his  whole  household,  as  well  as  to  his 
mother.  She  was  a  remarkable  woman,  and  her  mem- 
ory with  her  works  is  blessed  indeed. 


r 


44  3Irs.  Lydia  Baxter's  hymn. 


"For  me!  For  me!  For  me!" 


W 


(J,  HESE  were  the  dying  words  sung  by  Maggie  Lind- 
say of  Aberdeen,  Scotland.  An  account  furnished 
Tilt  Sanclay  School  Times  gives  the  following  inter- 
esting particulai's  :  She  Avas  brought  to  Christ  on  the 
last  night  of  1873,  during  the  great  revival  in  Edinburgh. 
Meeting  her  pastor  some  days  afterwards,  she  told  him 
the  secret  of  her  joyful  looks. 

At  parting  they  knelt  together,  and  when  the  man  of 
God   asked,   ''For   what  shall   we  pray?"   she  rcj)lied, 
"  That  I  may   have   more  faith,   and  remain   steadfast. " 
When  her  governess  returned  after  several  days'  absence, 
Maggie  w^as  impatient  to  tell  of  her  new-found  joy,  and 
came  to  her  room  Avith  the  message  that  she  had  good 
news  to  tell  her.     "Ah,  I  know   what  it  is,  Maggie,  be- 
fore you  tell  me,  you  have  found  Jesus,  is  not  that  it?" 
"Yes,  my  feet  are  on  the  rock,"  said  she,  as  she  went  on 
to  tell  the  joyous  story  of  Jesus'  love  to  her.     She  seemed 
powerfully  impressed  by  the  oft-repeated  hymn: — 
"  There  is  a  gate  that  stands  ajar, 
And.  throujih  its  portal  gleaming 
A  radiance  from  the  Cross  afar, 
The  Saviour's  love  revealing. 
Oh  dept'n  of  mercy!  can  it  be 
That  gate  was  left  ajar  for  me  ?  " 

January  27,  1874,  she  spent  her  last  evening  in  Edin- 
burgh with  her  governess  and  sister,  and  on  returning 
from  the  meeting,  the  latter  said  to  her,  "Maggie,  I  am 
to  give  you  a  text  on  leaving  us;  it  is  one  of  the  words 
of  Jesus,  'Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway. '"  The  next 
morning  she  took  the  train  for  Aberdeen.  A  fearful 
railroad  collision  took  place.  Maggie  was  left  for  sev- 
eral hours  lying  on  the  bank.  She  was  at  last  taken  up 
on  a  stretcher,  and  removed  to  a  cottnge  near  by.  It  was 
supposed  she  was  reading  her  much-loved   hymn,  as  the 


Lydia  Baxter's  hymn  concluded. 


45 


r 


leaf  Avas  turned  down  to  the  words,  "The  gate  ajar  for 
nie, "  and  the  pages  of  the  book  were  stained  with  her 
own  heart's  blood.  Lying  on  that  stretcher,  with  both 
limbs  broken,  a  fractured  skull,  and  other  internal  injur- 
ies, she  could  yet  sing  with  bleeding  lips  the  hymn : — 

''  Nothing  either  great  or  small, 
Remains  for  me  to  do  ; 
Jesus  died  and  paid  it  all, 
Yes,  all  the  debt  I  owe. '' 

And  then  after  that, 

"  Oh  depth  of  morcy  !  can  it  be 

That  gate  stands  open  wide  for  me?" 

"Forme!  for  me  I  for  mei"  she  sang  plaintively,  to 
the  uncontrollable  emotion  of  those  who  were  beside  her. 

Amid  all  her  suiferings  she  never  murmured.  Her 
chief  concern  was  for  the  effect  which  the  siffht  of  her 
poor  scarred  face  would  have  on  her  mother,  who  could 
not  reach  her  before  seven  in  the  evening.  She  was 
twelve  hours  alone  among  strangers;  "alone — yet  not 
alone,  "  she  said,  "  for  Jesus  is  here  !  He  has  been  with 
me  ahcay.     He  has  kept  his  word. " 

At  last,  unable  to  utter  another  word  whenever  a  hymn 
was  sung,  there  was  a  gurgling  sound  in  her  throat,  as  if 
she  was  trying  to  join  in  the  song  of  praise. 

Mr.  Sankey,  writing  of  her  says:  "I  am  persuaded  that 
already  the  story  of  her  patient  suffering  and  triumj)hant 
death  has  been  the  means  under  God  of  bringing  some 
to  the  feet  of  Jesus;  and  tfiat  the  sweet  testimony  which 
she  bore,  even  while  her  feet  were  passing  through  the 
cold  waters  of  Jordan,  'Jesus  has  kept  his  Avord'  will 
cheer  many  a  pilgrim  on  the  way  to  that  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God. 

" '  Faith  a  golden  vision  brings  us 

Of  that  pure  transcendent  shore, 
Where  the  blest  shall  walk  with  Jesus 
Robed  in  white  forevermore, '  " 


M 


46  Henry  Hope's  hymn  concluded. 


One  Who  Could  not  Sing  "Jesus  is  mine. "    _ 

"  Now  I  have  found  a  Friend, 

Jesus  is  mine ; 
His  love  shall  never  end, 

Jesus  is  mine. 
Though  earthly  joys  decrease, 
Thoupch  human  friendships  cease, 
Now  I  have  lasting  peace, 

Jesus  is  mine  1 " 

fHIS  hymn  was  issued  in  1852  by  Henry  Hope  of 
Belfast,  Ireland.  After  the  singing  of  it  in  Dublin, 
ICev.  Denliara  Smith,  while  speaking  on  the  value  of 
hymns  gave  in  substance  the  following  touching  incident : 

A  little  boy,  about  four  years  old,  came  one  day  where 
a  o-roup  of  young  converts  were  singing  this  hymn.  Im- 
mediatelv  the  little  fellow  stood  still,  with  closed  lips,  a 
very  unusual  thing  with  him,  and  when  asked  why  he 
did  not  sing,  he  said  he  could  not  sing,  for  Jesus  was  not 
his ;  but  he  said,  ■"  Will  you  pray  for  me,  for  I  want  to 
know  Jesus  as  mine. " 

When  he  went  home  his  mother  said  to  his  sisters, 
"Let  us  sing  two  or  three  other  liymns,  and  then  'Jesus 
is  mine,'  and  then  perhaps  he  will  sing  it  too;"  so  they 
sano-  several  others,  and  the  little  fellow  caroled  away  at 
the  top  of  his  voice,  until  they  commenced : — 

"  Now  I  have  found  a  friend, 
Jesus  is  mine. " 

His  lips  again  closed,  and  in  a  voice  of  craving  sorrow, 
turninp-  to  his  mamma,  he  said,  "Ah,  mamma,  w^hy  do 
vou  ask  me  to  sing  that?  I  cannot  sing  that,  for  Jesus 
is  not  mine." 

When  his  father  came  home  in  the  evening  and  heard 
it,  he  said :  "  Oh,  it  must  be  fancy  in  the  child ;  a  good 
night's  sleep  will  wear  it  away;  he  is  too  young  to  know 
much  of  the  reality  of  such  things. "     So  he  M'ent  to  bed, 


Henry  Hope^s  hymn.  47 

and  next  morning  when  the  father  opened  the  door,  what 
do  you  think  he  saw?  There  was  the  little  one  standing 
in  his  night-clothes,  looking  a  perfect  picture  of  anxiety 
and  inquiry.  He  said,  *'  Dear  papa,  is  not  the  day  after 
to-morrow  Friday  ?  "  "  Yes,  my  child.  "  "  And  papa, 
will  there  not  be  a  prayer-meeting  on  Friday?"  "Yes, 
my  child.''  "Then,  papa,  will  you  not  ask  them  to 
pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be  able  to  sing,  'Jesus  is  Mine,' 
for  I  have  been  looking  for  Jesus,  but  I  cannot  find  him ; 
Jesus  is  not  mine. "  His  papa  promised  that  he  would 
have  him  prayed  for. 

Wednesday  came,  and  Thursday,  and  at  last  Friday ; 
but  he  could  not  say,  "  Jesus  is  mine ; "  and  mid  the  en- 
gagements of  the  day,  the  father  actually  forgot  his  own 
child.  Toward  the  end  of  the  meeting,  the  congregation 
rose  and  sung : — 

"  Now  I  have  found  a  Friend, 
Jesus  is  mine. " 

It  happened  that  the  father  was  in  one  part  of  the  church 
and  his  little  boy  in  another ;  and  as  they  sung,  the  little 
fellow  wended  his  way  through  the  crowded  aisles  and 
groups  of  young  converts,  till  he  reached  the  father,  and 
resting  his  hands  upon  his  knees,  he  burst  into  tears, 
saying,  "  Dear  papa,  I  have  found  Jesus !  Jesus  is  mine !  " 
Sweet  is  the  young  love  of  that  child.  It  is  twelve 
months  ago  since  he  found  Jesus,  and  he  can  still,  with 
many  other  happy  ones  of  his  circle,  joyfully  sing: 

*'  I'm  a  pilgrim  bound  for  glory  ; 
Tm  a  pilgrim  going  liome  ; 
Come  and  hear  me  tell  the  story 
All  that  love  the  Saviour,  come. 

"  When  first  T  commenced  my  journey, 
Many  said,  '  He'll  turn  again  ; 
But  they  all  have  been  deceived ; 
In  the  way  I  still  remain. '  " 


48  PUUp  P.  Bliss. 


C 


Philip  P.  Bliss. 

fUT  few  hymns  of  late  years  have  been  more  eifecitive 
in  deciding  the  destiny  of  souls,   or  more  frequently 
sung  in  times  of  religious  awakening  than  the  one 
conamencing : — 

"  '  Almost  persuaded,'  now  to  believe  : 
'  Almost  persuaded,'  Christ  to  receive." 

Many,  we  are  sure,  will  be  glad  to  form  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  author  of  these  words  and  music. 
On  the  ojiposite  page  will  be  seen  his  friendly  counte- 
nance, which  speaks  for  itself  and  bears  the  impress 
of  a  soul  consecrated  to  the  joyous  work  of  the  Lord. 

Mr.  Philip  P.  Bliss  was  born  in  Clearfield  county, 
Pennsylvania,  July  9th,  1838.  His  religious  experience 
illustrates  the  power  ot  home  influence,  in  that  he  was 
"born  again"  belbre  he  was  five  years  old.  In  fact,  he 
says  he  cannot  remember  when  he  was  not^a  child  of 
God,  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ.  At  the  age  of  twelve 
he  was  baptized,  and  united  with  the  Baptist  C^hurch  of 
Cherry  Flatts,  Tioga  county.  Pa.,  the  only  church 
organization  convenient  to  his  home  at  that  time.  His 
parents  were  Methodists;  and  at  family  worship,  prayer- 
meeting,  and  camp-meeting  revivals,  he  first  imbibed  the 
love  of  song,  and  received  his  first  musical  impressions. 

Since  1865,  Mr.  Bliss  has  been  a  resident  of  Chicago, 
and  f()r  a  number  of  years  an  active  member  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church,  under  the  pastorate  of  the  Eev. 
Dr.  Goodwin. 

One  of  his  first  publishad  songs  was  a  tribute'to  the 
memory  of  his  teacher,  Wm.  B,  Bradbury,  entitled, 
"  He's  Gone."  His  first  Sunday  school  singing-book  was 
"  J7ic  Chorm,"  which  had  just  gotten  into  market  when 
the  great  Chicago  fire  destroyed  the  plates  and  dimmed 
its  lustre,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  the  author.     Mr.  Bliss, 


PHILIP  P.  BLISS. 


p.  p.  Bluis  continued.  51 


immediately  after  the  fire,  in  company  with  Mr.  Moody, 
started  on  a  trip  to  Boston  and  other  eastern  cities,  and 
held  "  Fire  meetings,"  in  aid  of  the  suffering  ones  of  the 
stricken  city.  While  on  this  tour  he  missed  the  train 
of  cars  at  Albany,  and  then  wrote  the  *'Fire  Song," 
"Roll  on,  O  Billow  of  Fire." 

Mr.  Bliss  is  the  author  of  the  following:  works: — 

"The  Charm"  published  in  1871. 

"  Song  Tree,"  for  concerts,  etc.  «•  1872. 

"  Joy,"  for  choirs  and  classes  "  18T3. 

"Sunshine  for  Sunday  schools "  "  1873. 

"Gospel  Songs  for  Gospel  Meetings"  "  1874. 

"  Gospel  Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs"  "  1875. 

This  last  book  was  issued  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Ira 
D.  Sankey,  and  as  it  is  used  in  connection  with  the 
"Moody  and  Sankey  meetings,"  it  has  met  with  an  im- 
mense circulation.   . 

Mr.  Bliss  Jias  united  with  Major  D.  W.  Whittle  in 
evangelistic  labors  in  the  same  way  as  Mr.  Sankey  with 
]\j^\  Moody.  In  their  first  united  efforts  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  the  seal  of  the  divine  approval  was  set  upon 
their  labors.  The  effective  singing  of  Mr.  Bliss  and  the 
earnest  gospel  utterances  of  Mv.  Whittle  drew  out  im- 
mense crowds.  The  whole  city  was  swept  by  a  wave  of 
salvation.  The  twenty-four  pastors  who  had  extended 
an  invitation  to  the  evangelists  found  their  hands  full  of 
workr.  The  large  hall  where  they  met  was  marked  off 
into  twenty-four  sections,  each  of  which  was  put  into 
charge  of  a  pastor,  who,  with  the  assistan3e  of  active 
laymen,  devoted  his  attention  to  the  inquirers,  who 
came  into  his  division.  Similar  success  has  since 
crowned  their  labors  in  other  sections  of  the  United 
States. 

Among  the  many  incidents  illustrative  of  the  hymns 
of  Mr.  Bliss  we  give  the  following: — • 


52  P.  P.  Bliss  continued. 


"Seems  now  some  soul  to  say, 
'  Go,  Spirit,  go  Thy  way, 
Some  more  convenient  day 
Un  Thee  I'll  call.'" 

In  closing  a  series  of  extra  sermons  in  Canada,  I  took 
for  my  text  the  prayer  of  the  perishing  disciples  on  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  ^''Lord  save;  we  perish J^  Mention  was 
made  of  this  prayer  as  being  a  timely  one;  because  the 
disciples  upon  finding  all  efforts  to  save  themselves  fail, 
did  not  settle  down  in  despair,  but  at  once  applied  to 
Christ  as  the  only  source  of  help. 

The  congregation  was  then  urged  upon  to  make  im- 
mediate application  to  the  same  Saviour  for  mercy. 
Many  responded  to  the  call,  and  rose  for  prayer.  It 
was  a  precious  meeting. 

There  was  present  that  night  a  youth  for  whom  many 
prayers  had  ascended.  Night  after  night  he  had  promised 
to  yield  himself  to  Christ,  -but  as  yet  he  had  not  done  so. 
This  was  the  last  meeting  of  the  course,  and  the  village 
people  being  absorbed  in  the  morrow's  fair,  wetrembjed 
lest  John  should  be  tempted,  while  with  ungodly  com- 
panions, to  stifle  his  convictions.  He  seemed  now  anx- 
ious about  his  soul  and,  humanly  speaking,  he  might 
never  feel  thus  again.  Prayer  was  offered  for  him  es- 
pecially, and  before  it  his  strong  frame  was  convulsed 
with  feeling. 

For  a  time  he  seemed  on  the  point  of  yielding  himself 
to  the  claims  of  Christ,  but  suddenly  becoming  more 
calmed,  he  remarked  with  an  air  of  indifference,  that  while 
he  purposed  sometime  calling  to  Christ  for  aid  he  would 
not  do  so  that  night. 

Three  months  had  hardly  elapsed  from  that  time  when 
the  writer,  returning  liome  from  a  distant  engagement, 

was   informed    that  John   A was    dangerously    ill, 

that  his  life  was  despaired  of,  and  that  he  had  repeated- 


i; 


Illustration  of  Mr.  Bliss'  hymn.  53 


ly  during  our  absence  sent  over  for  us.  Soon  we  stood 
at  his  bedside,  and  although  burning  with  fever  and 
greatly  exhausted,  we  found  him  with  bitter  tenacity 
clino-ing  to  life.  Being  informed  of  our  presence,  he 
turifed  his  deathly  eyes  and  looked  pitifully  at  us.  O, 
we  shall  never  forget  that  look!  "John,"  we  inquired, 
"how  is  it  with  you  now?"  Burying  his  face  in  his 
pillow,  he  made  no  reply.  "  Can  you  not  trust  your  soul 
with  a  merciful  Saviour  ?  "  we  further  inquired.  After 
a  painful  pause,  he  groaned  heavily  but  still  did  not 
reply.  "Wiiy,  John,"  we  again  inquired  with  feelings 
of  pain,  "  do  you  doubt  Christ's  willingness  to  save  the 
chief  of  sinners?  "  He  made  an  effort  to  answer  but  was 
at  first  choked  svith  grief;  we  waited,  however,  and  he 
dispairingly  exclaimed,  "Mr.  C— .  my  day  is  past,  my 
vessel  is  sinking,  yes  sinking,  almost  gone.'' 

How  bitterly  he  uttered  the  concluding  words,  "almost 
gone."  Giving  him  a  moment  lo  recover  himself  we 
exhorted  him  to  do  at  once  as  did  the  disciples,  and 
call  upon  Christ  for  help.  Making  no  reply,  we  were 
about  to  continue  our  remarks,  when  he  suddenly  ex- 
claimed with  a  voice  that  sent  a  thrill  through  every 
heart  present,  " O  sir,  call  upon  Christ,  do  you  say? 
Christ  has  left  the  vessel.  I  am  sinking  all^  alone." 
Pausing  to  recover  strength,  he  continued,  "It  is  no  use 
trying  now,  it  is  too  late,  I  could  have  been  saved,  but 
now  I  have  no  hope,  Christ  has  left  the  ship."  Thus 
he  sank  hopelessly  in  the  waters  of  death. 

In  this  touching  incident,  furnished  by  the  Rev.  AV. 
Codville,  rings  oiit  the  solemn  truth  in  the  last  verse  of 
the  hymn  of  Mr.  Bliss : — 

«' '  Almost  persuaded,'  harvest  is  past ! 
'Almost  persuaded,'  doom  comes  ai  last! 
^  Almost '  can  not  avail ; 
'Almost'  is  but  to  fail  I 
Sad,  sad,  that  bitter  wail — 
'  Almost — hut  lost  I " 

r"  — ^  ^1 


54  Fanny  Crosby. 


Fanny  J.  Crosby. 


a. 


)  HE  world  is  indebted  to  four  blind  poets  for  some  of 
1^  the  sweetest  songs  of  the  sanctuary.  One  of  the 
grandest  hymns  of  praise  that  has  ever  ascended  to 
tlie  skies  is  the  following,  which  was  written  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Blacklock,  D.  D.,  who  lived  his  three  score  years 
and  ten  in  total  blindness.  The  hymn  is  now  over  a 
century  old,  and  will  doubtless  find  a  place  in  the 
hymnody  of  the  church  until  the  last  trump  shall  sound 
the  end  of  time.     It  reads : — 

"  Come,  0  my  soul !  in  sacred  lajs, 
Attempt  thy  great  Creator's  praise  ; 
But  Ob  !  what  tongue  can  speak  his  fame? 
What  mortal  verse  can  reach  the  theme  1 

"Enthroned  amidst  the  radiant  spheres, 
He  glory,  like  a  garment,  wears; 
To  form  a  robe  of  light  divine. 
Ten  thousand  suns  around  him  shine. 

"  In  all  our  Maker's  grand  designs, 
Omnipotince  with  wisdom  shines  ; 
His  works,  tlirough  all  this  wondrous  frame, 
Bear  the  great  impress  of  his  name. 

"  Raised  on  devotion's  lofty  wing. 
Do  thou,  my  soul  !  his  glories  sing; 
And  let  his  praise  employ  thy  tongue, 
Till  listening  words  applaud  the  song." 

John  Milton,  the  world-renowned  poet,  a  part  of  whose 
life  was  spent  in  blindness,  wrote,  when  a  boy  of  fifteen 
years  of  age,  the  Psalm  that  has  been  so  oft  repeated 
during  the  past  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  commencing, 

"  Let  us,  with  a  gladsome  mind, 
Praise  the  Lord,  for  He  is  kind. " 

The  well-known  hymn,  "Sweet  hour  of  prayer,"  'was 
penned  by   the  blind   preacher,   Rev.  W.  W.   Walford 
who,  sitting  in  darkness,  could  say  from  blest  experience' 


C 


FANNY  J.  CROSBY. 


'Fanny  J.  Crosby  coidinvred.  57 


"  In  seasons  of  distress  and  grief, 
M3'  soul  has  often  found  relief, 
And  oft  escaped  the  tempter's  snare, 
By  thy  return,  sweet  hour  of  prayer." 

No  one  in  our  day  is  doing  more  by  means  of  her 
poetic  pen  to  remove  the  scales  from  the  blind  eyes  of 
sinners  than  the  one  whose  likeness  is  given  on  a  preced- 
ing page.  No  name  is  more  familiar,  or  associated  with 
more  precious  Sunday  school  hymns,  than  that  of"  Fanny 
Crosby,"  Although  unable  to  see  a  line  of  one  of  her 
many  hymns  she  has  written;  yet  by  and  by  she  will 
surely  behold  a  bright  array  of  starry  gems  that  they 
have  gathered  for  the  Saviour's  crown. 

What  pen  can  number  the  millions  whose  voices  have 
risen  in  song  while  singing  her  hymns  which  begin: — 

''Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus, 
Safe  on  his  gentle  breast, 
There  by  his  love  o'ershadowed, 
Sweetly  my  soul  shall  rest.'' 

"  Pass  me  not,  0  gentle  Saviour, 
Hear  my  humble  cry  ; 
While  on  others  thou  art  smiling, 
Do  not  pass  me  by." 

Fanny  J.  Crosby  was  born  at  South  East,  Putman  Co., 
New  York,  in  1823.  When  about  six  weeks  old  she 
lost  her  sight  through  cold  and  improper  treatment. 
"A  warm  poultice,"  says  she,  "laid  on  my  eyes  did  the 
mischief  and  caused  the  loss  of  sight  in  a  moment." 
Early  in  life  she  seemed  to  have  a  keen  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  also  evinced  that  poetic  talent  by  which 
she  has  gained  so  nmch  celebrity  in  later  years.  Her 
first  piece  was  written  when  only  about  eight  years  of 
age,  and  was  entitled,  "  Elegy  to  a  little  Robin."  AVhen 
about  twelve  years  old  she  came  to  New  York  City  to 
be  educated  in  the  "  Institution  for  the  Blind."  After 
pursuing  her  studies  for  seven  years,  she  became  a  teacher 


58  Fanny  J.  Crosby  continued.- 


in  the  same  Institution,  and  was  thus  employed  for  eleven 
years.  Here  in  1844,  she  issued  a  volume,  entitled: 
"The  Blind  Girl  and  other  Poems;"  in  1849,  another 
work :  "  Monterey  and  other  poems." 

In  the  fall  of  1851,  she  united  with  the  80th  Street 
Methodist  E.  Church,  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  John  D. 
Black.  Shortly  previous,  she  was  awakened  from  the 
death-sleep  of  sin,  in  an  unusual  manner,  which  she 
thus  describes : — 

"  My  conversion  was  owing  to  a  dream.  I  had  a  dear 
friend  who  was  a  devoted  Christian  man.  After  saying 
one  night  the  Lord's  prayer,I  was  thinking,  while  going 
asleep,  how  hard  it  was  to  say  and  feel,  'Thy  will  be 
done.'  During  my  sleep,  I  dreamed  that  I  was  sum- 
moned to  the  death  chamber  of  my  friend.  He  looked 
up  to  me  and  said:  'Fanny,  can  you  give  me  up?'  I 
said :  '  No,  I  cannot,  I'm  afraid  I  cannot.'  *  Why,' 
said  he,  '  would  you  chain  a  spirit  to  earth  that  longs  to 
fly  away  and  beat  rest.'  I  replied,  'I  cannot  do  it  with 
my  own  strength,  but  by  the  grace  of  God  assisting  me, 
I  will  try.'  He  said :  '  I  want  you  to  make  me  one  prom- 
ise. Think  well  before  you  make  it,  and  remember  you 
are  making  it  to  a  dying  man.  Will  you  promise  to 
meet  me  in  heaven?'  I  paused  for  a  moment,  and  look- 
ing in  his  face  I  said :  *  I  do  promise  to  meet  you  in 
heaven.'  A  calm,  unearthly  radience  spread  over  his 
face,  his  eyes  closed  and  he  passed  away.  I  woke  from 
my  dream,  and  never  reste<l  till  I  found  peace,  and  could 
sav  from  the  heart,  'Thy  will  be  done.  Tliis  was  in 
Oct.  1851." 

The  experience  of  this  "  echo  of  the  pure  and  holy 
throng"  is  well  expressed  in  her  sweet  hymn,  "The 
Brischt  Forever :  " — 


''  Breaking  through  the  clouds  that  gather 
O'er  the  christian's  natal  skies, 


u 


Fanny  J.  Crosby  continued.  .  59 


Distant  beams,  like  floods  of  glory, 

Fill  our  soul  with  glad  surprise ; 
A.nd  we  almost  hear  the  echo 

Of  the  pure  and  holy  throng, 
In  the  bright,  the  bright  forever, 

In  the  summer-land  of  song.   '^ 

Chorus  : — 
On  the  banks  beyond  the  river. 

We  shall  meet  no  more  to  sever; 
lu  the  bright,  the  bright  forever. 

In  the  summer-land  of  song.'" 

In  1858,  slie  was  married  to  Mr.  Alexander  Van 
Alstyne,  who  is  tlie  autlior  of  some  choice  pieces  of  music, 
and  possessed  quite  a  musical  talent.  Mrs.  Van  Al- 
styne, having  been  so  widely  known  by  her  maiden 
name,  Fanny  J,  Crosby,  it  is  still  retained  in  connection 
with  her  hymns,  though  of  late  years  some  few  of  her 
productions  are  accredited  to  Mrs.  Van  Alstyne,  or  Mrs. 
F.  J.  Van  Alstyne. 

Her  husband  can  enter  into  hearty  sympathy  with 
her  sightless  condition,  as  he  also  is  blind,  and  was  for- 
merly a  teacher  in  an  Institution  for  the  Blind.  Both 
of  their  mental  visions  are,  however,  clear,  and  the  sky 
above  beams  with  brightness  around.  He  is  enabled  by 
his  sweet  strains  of  music  to  guild  the  passing  moments, 
and  she  with  her  flowers  of  poesy  to  make  their  feet  ever  pass 
through  the  pleasant  summer-land  of  song.  During  the 
last  four  years  of  Mr.  Bradbury's  life,  Mrs.  Van  Alstyne 
was  in  his  employ.  The  first  hymn  she  wrote  for  him 
was  the  one  sung  by  his  friends  in  his  dying  moments, 
and  the  first  one  sung  by  the  children  at  his  funeral. 

"  We  are  going,  we  are  going 
To  a  home  beyond  the  skies." 

While  seated  together,  in  his  office,  one  bright  autumn 
day,  Mr.  Bradbury  spake  of  his  anticipated  death,  and 
said :  "  Fanny,  take  up  the  work   where  I  leave  it.     It 


60  Fanny  J.  Crosby  continued. 


will  not  be  long  till  you  will  come  to  that  ])eautiful  region 
too.  I'll  wait  for  you  on  the  bank  of  the  river."  It 
was  a  touching  scene  when,  in  after  days,  she  was  led  to 
the  coffin  of  her  departed  friend,  and  lifted  the  cold 
hand  of  clay,  to  bid  a  painful  adieu.  Faithfully  has 
she  complied  with  the  dying  request  of  her  sainted  friend 
to  carry  on  the  work.  Through  the  liberal  support 
granted  her  for  her  productions,  by  Messrs  Biglow  and 
Main,  she  has  ever  since  been  enabled  to  devote  her 
whole  time  to  the  composition  of  hymns. 

Fanny  Crosby  has  a  wonderful  faculty  for  impromptu 
composition.  Many  of  her  best  j)ieces  have  flowed  out 
of  her  soul  like  sparkling  water  from  a  fountain.  One 
day  Mr.  Doane  came  into  her  room  hurriedly,  saying, 
"Fanny,  I  want  you  to  write  a  hymn  on  'Safe  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus.'  "  At  the  same  time,  he  sat  down  and 
played  the  melody.  "  I  wrote  it,"  said  Fanny,  "  in  twen- 
ty minutes.     My  heart  was  in  it," 

This,  she  says,  has  proven  to  be  one  of  the  most  pop- 
ular hymns  she  ever  wrote.  When  it  first  welled  up 
from  the  warm  hearts  of  thousands,  in  S})urgeon's  Tab- 
ernacle, in  London,  the  effect  was  so  grand,  that  he 
with  streaming  eyes,  cried  out  at  the  close:  "That  is  so 
good.     Let  us  have  it  over  again."      ^ 

At  another  time,  Mr.  Doane  came  in,  saying:  "Fanny, 
I  want  you  to  write,"  and   as  he  struck  the   keys  of  the 
instrument,  there  flowed  from  the  lips  of  the  blind  poetess, 
the  words  of  the  popular  hymn,  beginning: — 
"  There's  a  gentle  voice  within,  calls  away." 

Under  the  same  inspiration  and  at  the  same  time,  she 
composed  another  hymn  that  is  often  sung : — 

"Jesus,  keep  me  near  the  cross, 
There  a  precious  fountain, 
Free  to  all — a  healing  stream. 

Flows  from  Calvarj''s  mountain," 


Fanny  J.  Crosby  continued.  61 


with  the  familiar  chorus  words: — 

"  In  the  cross,  in  the  cross 
Be  my  glory  ever  ; 
Till  my  raptured  soul  shall  find 
Rest  beyond  the  river." 
A  touching  incident  occurred  in   New  York   in  con- 
nection with  the  singing  of  the  last  hvnui. 

A  small  boy  was  run  over  by  a  Third  Avenue  rail- 
roa<l  car  and  taken  to  a  hospital.  A  few  moments  be- 
fore his  death  he  said:  ''May  I  sing?"  After  clasping 
his  little  hands  and  saying  the  Lord's  prayer,  he  broke 
out  in  singing  the  hymn^ 

"  Jesus,  keep  me  near  the  cross." 
His  voice  gradually  grew  weaker  as  he  sang: — 

"Near  the  cross  I'll  watch  and  wait, 
Hoping,  trusting  ever, 
Till  I  reach  the  golden  strand. 
Just  beyond  the  river." 

and  with  these  words  upon  his  lips  he  crossed  the  river. 
One  summer  evening,  Fanny  Crosby  was  ])resent  at  a 
meeting  in  the  Water  Street  Mission  in  New  York,  when 
a  number  of  sailors  were  present.  One  of  their  number 
arose  and  said  that  for  many  years  he  had  lived  far  from 
God — a  reckless  life — until  strolling  along  the  streets 
the  first  Sunday  after  his  vessel  had  landed,  he  happened 
to  hear  music  proceeding  from  that  building.  He 
stopped  and  listened,  and  was  induced  to  enter  while 
they  were  singing: — 

"  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus." 

It  SO  stirred  h'ssoul,  that  he  rested  not  till  he  was  "Safe 
in  the  arms  of  Jesus." 

Fanny  has  been  a  busy  writer.  About  six  hundred 
of  lier  Sunday  school  hymns  have  been  printed,  and  three 
hundred  miscellaneous  poems.  Mr.  H.  P.  Main  says: 
"We  have  also  about  one  thousand  of  her  unpublished 
hymns  which  will  appear  in  due  season." 


62  Origin  of  Mrs.  HaWs  hymn. 


Mrs.  Elvina  M.  Hall. 


jiX  central  Pennsylvania  is  a  spring  of  water  that 
^  rushes  forth  from  under  an  immense  rock,  in  force 
sufficient  to  make  vocal  at  once  some  adjacent  flour- 
mills,  and  to  make  green  tlie  meadows  through  which  it 
spreads  its  life-giving  waters.  So  there  are  some  hymns 
that  have  gushed  spontaneously  from  some  overflowing 
heart,  and  instantly  have  been  like  the  "river,  the  streams 
whereof  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God." 

Beside  the  organ  in  a  choir  gallery  of  the  Monument 
Street  Methodist  E.  Church,  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  there 
started  such  a  stream  of  soul-saving  influence  in  1865. 

On  a  Sabbath  morning,  one  of  the  singers  had  knelt 
in  prayer  at  the  opening  service,  led  by  the  pastor,  the 
Rev.  S.  Barnes.  Feeling  her  own  weekness  and  un- 
worthiness,  she  says,  she  inwardly  exclaimed:  "O  Lord, 
I  am  so  poor  and  helpless,  what  have  I  to  bring  to 
Thee,"  wlien  there  seemed  to  flow  into  my  soul  a  sweet 
echo  of  the  words  of  my  hymn  : — 

"  I  hear  the  Saviour  say,  Thy  strength  indeed  is  small; 
Child  of  weakness,  watcli  and  praj^,  Find  in  me  thine  all  in  all." 

"That  these  heaven-born  thoughts  might  not  escape, 
I  took  my  pencil  and  commenced  writing  them  down 
on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  '  Lute  of  Zion,'  and  so  rapidly  did 
the  words  pour  into  the  heart,  that  before  the  prayer  was 
ended,  I  had  completed  the  hymn,  and,  as  I  rose  from 
my  knees,  the  chorus  words  rose  jubilantly  to  my  lips: — 

"Jesus  paid  it  all,  All  to  him  I  owe, 

Sin  had  left  a  crimson  stain,  He  washed  it  white  as  snow." 

The  author  of  these  divinely  inspired  words  was  Mrs. 
Elvina  M.  Hall,  who  was  born  in  A  lexandria,  Va.,  in  1 818, 
but  for  many  years  past  has  been  a  resident  of  Baltimore 
City.  When  but  ten  years  of  age  she  found  her  Saviour, 
and  has  ever  since  been  a  useful  member  of  the  Church. 


Author  of  "  I  need  Thee  every  hour."  63 


Mrs.  Annie  S.  Hawks. 


^MID  the  trials  and  temptations  that  beset  the  path 
•^  of  the  Christian  pilgrim,  how  natural  the  language 
of  the  hymn : — 

"  I  need  Thee  every  hour, 
Most  gracious  Lord." 

Doubtless  many  happy  greetings  await  the  author  of 
these  lines  as  she  enters  the  bright  mansions  above. 

Mrs.  Annie  S.  Hawks  was  born  in  Hoosick,  New 
York,  May  28,  1835.  For  the  several  past  years  she 
has  been  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  New  York.  Although 
from  early  life  she  has  given  much  attention  to  educa- 
tional and  literary  pursuits,  yet  there  was  not  much  pub- 
licity given  to  her  effusions  till  about  1868,  when  her 
pastor,  the  Rev.  R.  Lowry,  discovering  her  talent,  en- 
couraged her  to  write  for  the  good  of  others.  Among 
the  first  and  tenderest  of  her  hymns  was,  "  Why  weepest 
thou?"  in  "Bright  Jewels."  Her  songs  have  also  ap- 
peared in  "  Pure  Gold,"  "Roval  Diadem,"  "Brightest 
and  Best,"  "Temple  Anthems,"  and  "Tidal  Wave,"  and 
have  been  copied  in  numerous  other  .  works.  Among 
her  songs  best  known  are : — 

"Who'll  be  the  next?" 
"  In  the  valley." 
"  Here  am  I." 
"  Yield,  0  yield." 
"  Wholly  Thine." 
"  Living  for  Christ." 
'  I  need  Thee  every  hour." 

The  last  hymn  was  the  outgrowth  of  her  own  exper- 
ience. Having  sent  it  to  the  Rev.  INIr.  Lowry,  he  caught 
the  spirit  of  the  hymn  and   gave  it  musical   expression. 

It  was  first  sung  in  the  National  Baptist  Sunday  School 
Convention  in  Cincinnati,  Nov.  20,  1872,  by  three 
thousand  people.     Its  popularity  began  from  that  hour. 


64  Rev.  R.  Low7'y. 

Il«v.  Robert  Lowry,  D.  D. 

fX  a  very  hot  summer  day,  in  1864,  a  pastor  was 
seated  in  his  parlor  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  It  was  a 
time  when  an  epidemic  was  sweeping  through  the 
city,  and  draping  many  persons  and  dwellings  in  mourn- 
ing. All  around  friends  and  acquaintances  were  passing 
away  to  the  spirit-land  in  large  numbers.  The  question 
began  to  arise  in  the  heart,  with  unusual  emphasis,  "  Shall 
we  meet  again?  We  are  parting  at  the  river  of  death, 
shall  we  meet  at  the  river  of  life  ?  "  "  Seating  myself 
at  the  organ,"  says  he,  "simply  to  give  vent  to  the  pent 
up  emotions  of  the  heart,  the  words  and  music  of  the 
hymn  began  to  flow  out,  as  if  by  inspiration : — 

"  Shall  we  gather  at  the  river, 

Where  bright  angel  feet  have  trod." 

That  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lowry,  who  has  since 
become  so  widely  known  in  connection  with  Sunday 
school  song.  He  was  born  in  Philadel])hia,  March  12, 
1826.  In  early  boyhood  he  began  to  throw  oif  scraps 
of  songs  and  composed  melodies  before  he  knew  anything 
of  harmony,  yet  publishers  picked  up  his  airs  and  issued 
them,  as  he  says,  "with  all  their  harmonic  crudeness." 
As  he  came  into  the  circle  of  musical  men,  he  detected 
his  own  deficiencies  and  gave  himself  to  the  thorough 
study  of  harmony. 

In  early  life  he  learned  to  love  his  Saviour,  and  in 
1854,  graduated  in  the  Lewisburg  University,  and  began 
the  work  of  the  gospel  ministry.  Plis  first  charge  was 
the  Baptist  church  at  West  Chester,  Pa.  His  subsequent 
]>astorates  were  in  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
In  1869,  he  was  elected  professor  of  Belles  Lettres  in 
the  University,  and  pastor  of  the  Baj)tist  Church  at 
Lewisburg,  Pa.  Alter  continuing  this  double  duty  for 
six  years,    the  pressure  of  the  work,    together  with   the 


W 


ROBERT  LOWRY. 


Rev.  R.  Lowry  continued.  67 


composition  of  music  books,  was  so  great  that  he  was 
compelled  to  withdraw  for  lest,  and  is  at  the  present  a 
resident  of  Plainfield,  N.  J. 

The  books  with  whicli  his  name  has  been  connected 
have  been  the  most  successful  of  all  that  have  been  pre- 
pared for  Sunday  schools.  The  "Bright  Jewels,"  issued 
in  1869,  attaineil  a  circulation  of  half  a  million  copies 
in  four  years;  "Pure  Gold"  has  reached  a  sale  of  a  mil- 
lion copies;  "Royal  Diadem  "and  ^*  Brightest  and  Best" 
are  following  in  the  same  successful  career. 

Among  his  best  kno\vn  pieces  we  may  mention  the 
following : — 

"  Shall  we  gather  at  the  river," 

"  Shall  we  know  each  other  there,"- 

*'  Who'll  be  the   next," 

"  Weeping  will  not  save  me," 

"One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus," 

"  Rifted  rock." 

"We  are  going  down  the  valley"  Avas  written  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  Says  he,  "I  was  sick  in  bed, 
propped  up  with  pillows.  At  the  same  time  three  per- 
sons, who  had  been  members  of  my  congregation,  two  of 
them  Sunday  si-hool  scholars,  were  lying  dead  within  a 
stone's  throw  of  my  liouse.  It  distressed  me  that  I  could 
not  attend,  any  of  these  funerals.  This  extraordinary 
mortality  impressed  me  deeply.  My  feeling  was  so  op- 
pressive that  I  (?ould  relieve  it  only  in  song.  On  the 
back  of  an  envelope  I  wrote  the  refrain,  and  the  music 
came  with  it.  The  hymn  followed  in  close  connection, 
and  the  whole  song  took  shape  the  same  afternoon. 
This  also  was  born,  not  made. 


r  ^=M 


68  W.  Howard  Doane. 


W.  Howard  Doane. 


fHE  names  of  INIessrs.  Doane  and  Lowry  are  as  famil- 
iar as  household  words,   being  so  prominently   asso- 
ciated as  authors  of  some  of  our  most  popular  singing 
books,  such  as  "  Pure    Gold,"    '*  Royal   Diadem, "  and 
"Brightest  and  Best." 

Mr.  W.  Howard  Doane  was  born  in  Preston,  Conn., 
February  3,  1831.  In  early  life  he  gave  evidences  of 
that  musical  talent  that  has  given  him  in  later  years  so 
much  celebrity.  When  but  fourteen  years  of  age  he 
composed  a  long  metre  tune.  At  sixteen  he  was  the 
leader  of  a  choir,  and  at  seventeen  both  conductor  and 
organist.  About  this  time  he  commenced  the  study  of 
harmony  and  tliorough  bass  under  the  most  eminent 
teachers  of  the  day,  and  also  to  compose  songs  with  piano 
accompaniment.  Music  with  him  is  a  sort  of  second 
nature,  a  constant  source  of  enjoyment  and  delight.  So 
that  many  of  his  pieces  have  spontaneously  bubbled  up 
from  the  musical  depths  within.  Thus  the  nmsic  of 
"  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  "  swept  over  the  cords  of  his 
soul,  while  the  cars  were  sweeping  through  the  land  on 
a  journey  to  New  York.  At  another  time,  while  riding 
through  the  White  Mountains  on  the  old  style  of  stage 
coach,  the  music  of  the  "Old,  old  story"  began  to  float 
through  the  inner  man. 

Among  his  best  pieces  which  have  taken  a.  warm  liold 
on  the  Christian  heart,  and  which  will  never  be  forgotten 
we  may  mention  those  entitled: — • 

'Pass  me  not,  0  gentle  Saviour," 
"Jesus,  keep  me  near  the  cross," 
"  More  love  to  thee,  0  Christ," 
"  Take  the  name  of  Jesus  with  you.' 


Andrew  Young^s  hymn.  69 


Praise  from  a  Boat  Cabin. 

^  HIBERNIAN  asking  a  minister  to  come  and  see 
<^  his  child,  the  following  conversation  ensued  : — 

"  '  What  is  your  name,  sir,  and  where  do  you  live? ' 
" '  My  name  is  Pater  M :  I  live  on  an  ould  ca- 
nal-boat at  the  fut  of  Harrison  Street.     I  wint  there  whin 
I  was  burnt  out;  and  nobody  at  all  has  driv  me  out  of  it. ' 
" '  And  what  is  the  matter  with  your  child  ? ' 
"'Och  !  and  is  it  Kitty,  my  own  little  darling  Kitty. 
The  only  child  I've  lift  of  the  six  that  has  been  born  til 
me  ?     Och !  Kitty !  she  was  playing  about  on  a  ship  where 
I  was  til  wark,  and  she  fell  down  the  hatchway  and  broke 
her   leg,  and  poor  Kitty's   leg  is  not  set   right,  your 
riverence,  for  I  have  no  money  til  pay  a  docther.     Och  ! 
poor  Kitty !  and  I've  nothing  to  give  her  to  ate,  your 
riverence. ' 

" '  Well,  Peter,  I  will  come  down  and  see  your  Kitty, 
and  see  what  can  be  done  for  you.' 

"  I  did  so,  and  found  a  MTctched  state  of  things.  The 
poor  little  suifering  child  was  overjoyed  to  see  me.  I 
remembered  her  countenance, — a  sweet,  mild  little  girl, 
not  yet  five  years  of  age.  She  lay  upon  the  side  seat  of 
an  old  canal-boat  which  had  been  laid  up  for  the  winter. 

There  was  no  fire,  though  it  was  a  bitter  cold  day, no 

chair,  no  bed,  no  food,  scarcely  an  article  of  furniture  or 
any  comfort  whatever.  I  did  what  I  could  to  relieve  the 
wants  of  the  little  sufferer.  I  asked  her  if  she  could 
read.  No,  she  could  not  read  a  w^ord ;  '  but  I  can  sing , ' 
said  she.  '  What  can  you  sing  ? '  '  Something  I  learned 
at  Sabbath-School. '  '  Well,  what  is  it  you  can  sing,  Kit- 
ty?'    lu  a  moment  her  sweet  little  voice  broke  out, 

"  '  There  is  a  happy  land, 
Far,  far  away, 
Where  saints  in  glory  stand 
Bright,  bright  as  dav.  '  " 

'  '  ^^ 


70  Philip  Phillips. 


Philip  Phillips. 

fR.  PHILIP  PHILLIPS  is  widely  known  as  the 
"Sinofinor  Pilo;rim,"  and  of  late  has  extended  his 
pilgrimage  around  the  world,  making  the  entire 
circuit  vocal  with  song.  Like  Mr.  Sankey,  he  has  been 
privileged  to  reach  and  sway  great  multitudes  with  the 
eloquence  of  musical  speech,  and  to  preach  effective  song 
sermons.  Mr.  Phillips  was  born  in  Chatauqua  County, 
New  York,  August  13,  1834.  In  early  life  he  lost  his 
mother.  His  father,  having  a  large  family  to  care  for, 
little  Philip  was  apprenticed  to  a  farmer  until  he  should 
attain  to  the  age  of  twenty-one.  Amid  his  daily  toil  his 
soul  was  full  of  song,  and  in  his  spare  moments  he  began 
the  studv  of  music.  Availing  himself  of  every  oppor- 
tunity of  attending  upon  musical  schools  and  conventions, 
under  Dr.  Lowell  Mason  and  other  eminent  teachers, 
he  was  enabled  by  the  time  he  was  seventeen,  to 
begin  his  life  work  of  "Singing  for  Jesus."  When 
nineteen  years  of  age  his  employer  released  him  from 
service,  and  he  was  permitted  to  give  his  undivided  at- 
tention to  the  teaching  and  study  of  music.  While 
singing  at  musical  and  other  conventions,  and  large 
Sunday  school  gatherings,  he  became  extensively  known 
as  a  sweet  singer  in  Israel,  and  so  extensive  has  been  his 
sphere  of  labor  that  he  has  held  his  "Evenings  of  Sacred 
Song  "  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  and  in  all  sections  of 
Canada  and  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  in  India,  Australia, 
and  other  remote  parts  of  the  globe. 

Having  given  his  heart  to  the  Lord  when  but  a  boy 
of  thirteen,  he  early  blossomed  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord,  and  in  after  years  gave  to  his  first  publication  the 
expressive  title :  "  Early  Blossom."  These  blossom  leaves 
ended  in  abundant  fruit,  as  twenty  thousand  copies  of 
the  book    were   sold.     Soon    after   there   followed    his 


PHILIP  PHILLIPS. 


Philip  Phillips  continued. 


73 


"Musical  Leaves,"  that  spread  over  the  land  like  the 
leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,  fragrant  with  that  odor  which 
is  "for  the  healing  of  the  nations."  Soon  after  there 
came  treading  through  the  land  his  "Singing  Pilgrim," 
which  made  many  homes  vocal  with  the  name  of  Jesus. 
The  singing  of  Mr.  Phi llrjjs' song,  "I  will  sing  for 
Jesus,"  has  been  attended  with  happy  results.  One 
evening  a  great  throng  had  gathered  in  the  Effingham 
Theater,  London,  in  connection  with  William  Booth's 
mission,  to  hear  Mr.  Phillips  "sing  for  Jesus."  The 
song  was  wafted  to  the  ears  of  a  dispairing  man,  while 
on  his  way  to  the  London  docks  to  commit  suicide.  It 
arrested  his  attention.  As  he  listened  the  inquiry  was 
made  to  echo  through  his  soul, 

"  Can  there  overtake  me 

Any  dark  disaster, 

While  I  sing  for  Jesus, 

My  blessed,  blessed  Master  ?  " 

His  purpose  was  thwarted.  It  brought  home  to  his 
heart  the  memory  of  a  mother's  prayers  and  praises  in 
his  early  days,  and  brought  him  broken-hearted  to  the 
feet  of  his  Saviour.     So  that  afterwards  he  could  say: — 


"I  will  sing  for  Jesus; 

His  name  alone  revealing, 
Shall  be  my  sweetest  music. 

When  heart  and  flesh  are  failing." 

In  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Phillips'  career  he  was  filling 
an  engagement  in  the  West.     While  singing  the  words 

"Can  there  overtake  me,  "  etc. 
his  store  with  all  its  contents  was  burned,  throwing  him 
out  of  business  capital,  and  thereby  forcing  him  to  the 
writing  and  singing  of  sacred  songs.  While  this  seemed 
like  daik  disaster  it  proved  to  be  but  the  dark  cloud 
that  brought  a  blessing  in  disguise.  On  the  following 
page  we  give  an  illustration  of  the  sentiment  contained 
in  one  of  Mr.  Phillips'  hymn,  the  "  Home  of  the  Soul." 


li 


74  Phillips'  "song  of  the  soul. " 


Echo   of  the  Keavenly  Choir. 

"  Till  I  fancy  but  thinly  the  vail  intervenes 
Between  the  fair  city  and  me.  " 

tOPHIE  Rubeti,  eighteen  years  of  age,  died  at  High- 
land,  Kansas  Jan.  25,  1861. 
Not  long  before  her  death,  she  said  to  one  support- 
ing her,  "Js  not  the  village  band  playing  this  evening?" 
On  being  told  it  was  not,  she  said,  "  I  hear  delightful  mu- 
sic, I  thought  the  band  was  playing.  Oh !  it  is  delight- 
ful, listen,  and  I  think  you  can  hear  it,"  and  added,  "I 
have  now  lost  the  use  of  one  of  my  hands,  ( it  was  cold 
in  death,)  but  if  I  could  use  it,  I  would  raise  it  and  clap 
both  my  hands  for  joy  in  the  beautiful  prospect. "  She  con- 
tinued, as  she  had  strength,  to  exhort  and  to  praise,  un- 
til just  before  her  departure  she  exclaimed,  "  Jesus  is  com- 
ing— they  are  coming — raise  me  up, "  and  in  a  few  seconds, 
without  a  struggle  or  a  moan,  she  ceased  to  breathe. 

The  following  verses  were  written  in  her  own  hand, 
on  the  inner  lid  of  her  Bible: — 

"Worlds  should  not  bribe  me  back  to  tread  . 
Again  life's  weary  waste, 
To  see  a^ain  my  days  o'erspread 
With  all  the  gloomy  past. 
My  home  henceforth  is  in  heaven, 

Earth,  sea,  and  sun  adieu, 
All  heaven  unfolded  to  mine  eyes, 
I  have  no  sioht  for  vou.  " 


fS   a  mother  bent  over  a  death  bed,    her  daughter 
Margaret  said,  "  Kiss  me  dearest  Mamma,  and  fold 
your  arms  about  me,  that  I  may  die  in  them. " 
When  this  was  done,  a  heavenly  lustre  lit  up  her  coun- 
tenance as  she  exclaimed,  "/  Aeo?'  the  songs  of  angels, 
and  go   to  join  them,  and  to  be  forever    with  Jesus.  " 
She  then  bade  adieu  to  earth. 


C 


"  Sing,  father. 


75 


"  Jesus  Is  Eight  Here. " 

OW  expressive  these  words,  as 
uttered  by  a  little  one,  in  the 
valley  of  the   shadow  of  death. 

He  had  sent  for  his  Sunday 
school    teacher. 

As  he  drew  near  the  death  bed, 
Johnny  exclaimed,  "I  am  not  a- 
fraid  to  die  now,  dear  teacher, 
Jesus  is  right  here,  and  he  makes 
it  very  light."  "Sing,  father," 
said  he,  "Sing, — 

"There  is  a  fountaii  filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Immanuers  veins." 

The  father  tried  to  sing,  but  his  strong  voice  failed 
him.    Then  the  mother  with  faltering  voice,  commenced 
the  hymn.  And  amid  the  echoes  of  this  sweet  hymn  he 
passed  up  to  the  hallelujahs  of  the  heavenly  world. 
Truthfully  the  marble  grave  stone  says  of  him, 
"Not  lost. 
But  gone  befoee." 

A  little  girl,  who  had  a  sweet  realization  of  the  near- 
ness of  the  Saviour,  whispered,  with  her  dying  breath, 
"  Father,  take  me. " 

Her  father,  who  sat  weeping  by  her  bedside,  thought 
she  meant  him,  and  so  lifted  her  up  into  his  lap.  She 
smiled  and  thanked  him,  and  said,  "  I  spoke  to  my  heav- 
enly Father,  "  and  then  died. 


C 


73  Ira  D.  Sankcy. 

Ira  D.  Sankey. 

fFEW  years  ago  nearly  every  one  thought  that  we  had 
reachad  the  cuhuination  in  the  Sunday  school  world, 
that  its  utmost  cajjacity  for  good  was  comprehended, 
but  the  clearer  light  of  each  new  year's  experience  reveals 
our  mistake.  So  it  has  been  iu  the  sphere  of  music. 
The  wonderful  effects  that  have  been  lately  developed  in 
the  soul-saving  power  of  sanctified  music,  and  of  singing 
only  for  Jesus,  have  shown  to  the  church  great  undevel- 
oped resources  in  that  direction.  And  if  the  sweet  ring 
of  a  few  consecrated  "bells,"  has  pro^luced  such  a  deep 
impression,  as  the  chariot  of  the  Lord  passes  through 
the  land,  wliat  may  we  not  expect,  when  we  shall  live 
in  th3  full  meridian  of  that  day,  when  "there  shall  be 
upon  all  the  bells  of  thy  horses.  Holiness  unto  the  Lord." 
Hitherto  the  world  has  had  some  idea  of  the  reading 
and  singing  of  hymus,  but  not  the  full  meaning  of 
"Speaking,  and  teacthing  and  admonishing  one  another 
inPsahnsand  hymns  and  spiritual  songs."  New  beauty 
has  appeared  in  this  portion  of  the  holy  writ  since  Mr. 
Sankey  and  other  sweet  singers  have  been  speaking  to 
and  teaching  and  admonishing  the  great  multitudes  in 
the  melodious  strains  of  the  gospel  in  song. 

Mr.  Ira  D.  Sankey  was  born  in  Edinburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1840.  With  four  In-others  and  sisters,  he  grew 
up,  under  the  soul  saving  influences  of  godly  parents,  in 
connection  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His 
co.iversion  took  place  in  his  sixteenth  year,  during  a 
series  of  revival  meetings  held  in  King's  Chapel.  At 
th.>  commencement  of  these  extra  services,  he  seemed 
quite  indifferent,  but  night  after  night  an  old  steward  in 
the  church  was  wont  to  urge  him  to  lay  hold  on  eternal 
life,  and  persisted  in  his  exhortations,  until  he  at  length 
yielded  to  the  claims  of  the  gospel  and  united  his  destiny 


IRA  D.  SANKEY. 


Ira  D.  Sanhey  continued.  79 


with  the  people  of  God.  His  parents  shortly  afterwards 
removing  to  New  Castle,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  there 
received  into  full  membership  with  the  Methodist  E. 
Church.  When  about  twenty  years  of  age  he  became 
the  superintendent  of  a  large  Sabbath  school,  and  in  this 
capacity  commenced  his  career  of  singing  the  gospel  into 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  Mr.  Moody,  having  heard  him 
at  the  International  Convention  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  at  Indianapolis,  said  to  him,  after 
an  introduction  :'' I  want  you?"  **  What  for?"  was 
the  reply.  "  To  help  me  in  my  work  at  Chicago."  "  I 
cannot  leave  my  business."  "You  must,"  said  Mr. 
Moody,  "  I  have  been  looking  for  you  for  the  last  eight 
years." 

After  looking  up  to  heaven  for  direction,  Mr.  Sankey 
yielded  to  the  request,  and  the  two  united  their  tact  and 
talents  in  winning  souls  to  Christ. 

Solo-singing  had  been  in  vogue  before,  but  it  had  been 
looked  upon  rather  as  a  "  method  of  pious  enjoyment," 
than  as  a  '•  means  of  grace  and  salvation."  After  some 
two  or  three  years  of  labor  together  in  Chicago  and  other 
cities,  they  set  sail  for  England  on  June  7,  1872,  as  Mr. 
Moody  said:  "To  win  ten  thousand  souls  to  Christ." 
On  landing  at  Liverpool  they  discovered  that  the  two 
friends,  by  whom  they  had  been  invited  to  England^  had 
recently  died. 

Their  first  meeting  was  held  at  York,  in  a  small  room 
of  tlie  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  was  at- 
tended by  only  eight  persons.  But  from  that  small  be- 
ginning there  started  a  work  that  spread  like  a  mighty 
wave  of  salvation  over  Great  Britain. 

At  York  an  interesting  conversion  took  place  in  con- 
nection with  the  singing  of  Mr.  Sankey.  While  engaged 
in  singing  at  his  private  lodgings,  the  people  would 
gather   in  the   streets,   in   great   crowds  to   hear   him. 

c g)l 


80  Ira.  D.  SanJcey  continued. 


Among  the  number  was  a  woman  Avho  was  so  deeply 
convicted  of  her  sins,  by  one  of  the  hymns  sung,  that  she 
sought  an  interview  with  Mr.  Sankey,  and  was  at  once 
led  by  him  to  Christ. 

This  was  the  first  of  that  long  series  of  song-trophies 
which  became  so  characteristic  of  the  great  English  re- 
vival. One  secret  of  Mr.  Sankey's  success  was  the  prom- 
inence he  gave  to  hymns  having  a  Scriptural  basis,  such 
as  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by,"  Almost  persuaded," 
and  "The  N^inety-and-nine."-  This  helped  to  open  the 
way  to  the  hearts  of  the  psalm-singers  of  Scotland,  who 
had  so  long  been  averse  to  instrumental  music  in  the 
sanctuary.  One  writer  says,  "  His  singing  has  swept 
away  our  prejudices;  no  one  has  thought  of  arguing 
whether  or  not  it  is  suited  to  public  worship,  because 
every  one  feels  that  it  is.  What  Mr.  Sankey  does  is  to 
preach  by  song.  He  is  no  performer.  We  think  when 
we  hear  him  of  what  he  is  singing,  not  of  how  he  sings. 
That  a  man  should  stand  up  at  the  music  stool  and  pray 
that  the  song  he  is  about  to  sing  may  carry  a  message  to 
many  hearts,  or  that  he  should,  in  a  short  speech,  ask 
Christians  to  pray  while  he  is  singing,  that  God  will 
bless  his  song,  is  a  thing  that  none  of  us  ever  heard  of 
before." 

A  Scotchman  came  to  his  pastor  one  day,  saying,  "  I 
cannot  do  with  the  hymns.  They  are  all  the  time  in 
my  head  and  I  cannot  get  them  out.  The  psalms  never 
trouble  me  that  way."  ''Very  well,"  said  the  pastor, 
"then  I  think  you  should  keep  to  the  hymns." 

In  connection  with  Mr.  Sankey's  singing  have  been 
many  illustrations  of  Herbert's  couplet: — 

"  A  verse  may  win  hira  who  the  gospel  flies, 
And  turn  delight  into  sacrifice." 

A  young  lady  who  had  been  led  to  Christ  was  anxious 
to  know   what  to  do  in    relation    to  a  wild  young  man 

r  ^g; 


Ira  D.  Sankey  continued.  81 


to  whom  she  was  engaged  to  be  married. 

While  paying  her  a  visit  one  evening  he  noticed  a 
great  change  in  her  mind,  and  asked  her  what  it  meant. 
After  telling  him  of  her  conversion  and  her  fears  that 
she  would  not  be  happy  in  living  with  one  who  had  no 
regard  for  religion,  he  relieved  her  mind  by  saying, 
"  Don't  be  troubled,  Mary,  I  have  been  to  the  meetings 
too.  I  went  down  there  the  other  night  just  to  see  what 
the  fun  was,  and  before  I  had  been  there  long  Mr. 
Sankey  sang  something  that  went  straight  to  my  heart. 
So  now  I  am  a  Christian  too  and  we  will  go  to  heaven 
together." 

A  comic  singer  was  going  upon  the  stage  to  sing  a 
comic  song,  in  England,  when  suddenly  a  verse  of  a 
Sunday  school  hymn  so  filled  his  mind  as  to  crowd  out 
the  sojig,  and  he  was  unable  to  perform  his  part,  when 
the  manager  at  once  dismissed  him  from  his  service. 
To  recover  from  his  failure  he  thought  he  would  write  a 
comedy  ending  with  a  burlesqu<!  on  Moody  and  Sankey. 
In  order  to  sharpen  the  edge  of  his  satire  he  went  to  hear 
them  for  himself.  At  the  meeting  while  waiting  to 
gather  material  for  his  comedy  he  was  so  wrought  upon 
by  what  he  heard  that  lie  confessed  his  sin,  and  sent  up 
the  Bartimeus  cry  for  mercy.  After  peace  was  obtained 
he  began  at  once  to  sing  the  new  song  of  redeeming  love. 

While  riding  in  the  cars  in  Scotland,  Mr.  Sankey  met 
with  the  words  of  the  hymn,  "Ninety  and  nine,"  in  the 
corner  of  a  newspa])er.  A  few  days  later  the  subject  of 
of  the  "  Shepherd  "  was  under  consideration  at  cue  of 
their  meetings,  when  the  hymn  seemed  so  appropriate  to 
the  remarks  made  that  he  was  led  as  if  by  inspiration  at 
once  to  give  musical  expression  to  the  words  by  singing 
the  tune  to  which  they  have  become  wedded  ever  since. 
The  unwritten  melody  surjirised  Mr.  Moody  who  asked, 
"  Where  did  you  get  it?   It  is  t!ie  best  piece  you  ever  sung," 


W 


Plan  of  Illustrated  Sermon?. 


In  the  preparation  of  these  sermons  ^fr.  Long  has 
employed  eminent  artists  to  paint  on  canvas,  ( making  a 
roll  for  each  discourse)  first  the  text  in  letters  laige 
enough  to  be  seen  over  the  largest  building,  then  under- 
neatli  a  painting  of  the  occasion  of  the  text,  after  this  as 
many  other  verses  of  Scripture  uith  illustrations  below 
as  there  are  points  in  the  sermons  or  links  in  the  chain 
of  thought.  By  means  of  a  frame  twelve  feet  high, 
placed  in  the  rear,  the  illustrations  appear  above  the  top 
of  the  pulpit.  Suspended  on  three  rollers  they  revolve 
silently  and  as  quickly  as  the  turning  of  a  leaf  of  a 
written  sermon. 

The  frame  is  made  of  tin-ware,  so  nan  ow  that  it  oc- 
cupies but  a  handbreadth  of  s])ace  behind  the  pulj)it  sofa, 
in  telescopic  form,  so  that  the  parts  drop  one  into  the 
other,  and  can  be  put  up  or  taken  down  in  five  niinut<;s. 
It  is  all  concealed  with  becoming  drapery,  so  as  to  form 
a  neat  back  ground  to  any  pulpit,  and  the  audience  see 
nothing  but  the  Scripture  text  and  its  illustration  under- 
neath. 

For  example,  one  sermon  is  on  the  text  "  Thy  heart 
is  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God."  Below  the  text  is  seen 
the  occasion  of  the  words,  to  wit:  Sin.on  Magus  dis- 
closing the  state  of  his  heart  by  offering  money  to  the 
Apostles  with  which  to  buy  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then 
follow  vaiious  Scripture  illustrations  of  the  heart  as  it 
appears  in  God's  sight.  A  miniature  view  of  one  of  these 
illustrations  is  given  on  the  opposite  page,  showing 
Solomon's  vain  endeavor  to  satisfy  his  heart  with  earthly 
good.  In  the  scene  is  seen  all  the  objects  he  found  to 
be  "  vanity." 


84 


Engravings. 


Department  of  Sunday   School  Song. 


C 


Portrait  of  Robert  Raikes 21 

Jubilee  Gathering  at  Exeter  Hall 25 

Portrait  op  Wm.  B.  Bradbury 27 

Portrait  of  Mrs.  Lydia  Baxter 38 

Anthor  of  "There  is  a  gate  Ihat  stands  ajar." 
Portrait  of  P.  P.  Bliss 49 

Author  of  "  '  Almost  persuaded'  now  to  believe." 
Portrait  of  Fanny  J.   Csosby 55 

Anthor  of  "  Pass  me  not,  0  gentle  Saviour." 
Portrait  of  Rev.  Robert  Lowry,  D.  D 66 

Author  of  "  Shall  we  gather  at  the  river.  " 
Portrait  of  Philip  Phillips 71 

Author  of  "  Still  I  am  singing,  Jesus  is  mine." 
Portrait  of  Ira  D,  Sankey,.,. 77 


^ 


'  Theological   Seminary- Speer   Library 


1    1012  01099  5944 


Date  Due 


^  SEP  "^6  1934 


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